The Sparrowhawk Beckons
by AudreaFalco
Summary: Audrea Falco had infiltrated Hitler's personal regime in the past. Now she's hiding out in the trees of France in the middle of World War II with a new identity as the feared "Sparrowhawk." When the Basterds find out about her skill and attempt to recruit her, will she accept? Or will she choose to remain a shadow among the trees?
1. Sparrowhawk

**Raine's dialogue in this story will attempt to stay as close to how his accent/voice sounds in the movie, so that's why it's a little choppy throughout. Also, I used Google Translate for the German and other language parts, so if some of it is a bit off I apologize!**

**If you like what you read, please give the story a review! I appreciate anyone that takes the time to do so! :)**

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><p>"Now, I'm goin' to ask ya' one last time…we's lookin' for someone named 'Sparrowhawk.' Heard a 'im?"<p>

The thick, Southern drawl was apparent in the man's voice as he interrogated a terrified- although he did a great job of masking that terror- German man kneeled in front of him. The blond glared up at him and then spit at the interrogator's feet, earning a hard knock to the head from the other man standing behind him.

"You ain't makin' this easy for me," the Southern man, identified as Lieutenant Aldo Raine, ran a hand over his face as he sighed, leaning down to come eye-level with the prisoner. "I'm a give you one last chance. You know where 'e is?"

"Ich habe dir gesagt, jew scheißkerl, ich weiß nicht! (I told you, Jew Bastard, I don't know!)" The German screamed in Raine's face, lurching forward in an attempt to headbutt the squad leader. Raine dodged the headbutt attempt, shaking his head as he stood back up.

"See? This is why I need to learn some German," Raine glared at the other men around him, finally looking directly at the man to his right as he moved away from the Nazi. "Donny, do your worst."

The much larger man grinned menacingly, strutting over towards the still kneeling Nazi. The bat he carried was swung out in front of him as he gripped the base tightly, lining up the head of the bat with the Nazi's head. "This may hurt a bit."

Donny grinned at the wide-eyed Nazi before a sickening crack echoed through the forest.

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><p>"We finally get one to talk an' he points us in a general fuckin' direction," Raine rolled his eyes as the men walked farther into the forest. "I suggest ya' keep your eyes to the treetops since 'e likes to sit in 'em."<p>

The men responded with various sounds of understanding as Raine placed a hand over his eyes, scanning the seemingly endless rows of trees. A rustle from one of the trees behind the group startled the men and they brought their hands to their weapons, Raine raising a hand to signal they relax. He walked back towards the general direction of the sound and noticed something out of the corner of his eye lying under one of the trees: an apple.

"Now, we see you up there. Mind comin' down?" Raine placed his hands on his hips as he looked up into the branches of the tree. A shadowy figure shifted a bit, but stayed put. "I don't think so."

Raine raised an eyebrow and glared up at the figure. "Now, I suggest ya' jump on down from there before I call on one of ma' men to shoot ya' down. What d'ya say?"

There was a pause and a few rustling sounds as the men waited, shooting glances at each other as their superior kept his focus intent on the figure in the tree. There was a sharp cracking sound as the figure descended down the branches, landing hard on their feet at the base of the tree. The figure stood straight and rubbed their wrist on another apple they held, not taking the time to acknowledge the men standing around.

"Okay…I didn't trudge around in no fuckin' forest to find some freak _girl_ who lives in trees!" Donny's annoyed voice rang out as the rest of the men stared at the girl in shock. Raine didn't say anything as the girl continued to rub her wrist on the apple, glancing up once the leader cleared his throat. The girl looked at him and raised an eyebrow, taking in his older appearance and mustache. "May I help you?"

The annoyance was noticeable in her voice as she looked directly at Raine, seemingly ignoring the rest of the men stationed around him. Raine smiled at her and walked forward a bit. "We's been lookin' for a person named 'Sparrowhawk.' Ya' know a person by that name?"

The girl kept her gaze focused on Raine as she crossed her arms. "I might. Who's asking?"

"That would be me…Lieutenant Aldo Raine. We want the sniper to join us…the Basterds." Raine kept his gaze confident as a low, annoyed growl left Donny's lips from behind his superior. The girl's eyes flickered to the taller man and then back to Raine's, studying his face for a moment.

"The Basterds, huh? Your name has been floating around France for quite some time. Nazi killers," the girl smiled an evil smile as she chuckled, straightening her form and uncrossing her arms. "I would be the 'Sparrowhawk' you're looking for."

"Well, darlin', would ya' like to join the Basterds? A good sniper would sure as hell help our situation." Raine grinned at the Sparrowhawk as she continued to look at him with an amused smile, chuckling as she brought her gaze downward. "I don't know-"

"A _girl_, sir! We trudged all this way for a _girl_?!" Donny moved forward to stand next to Raine, his bat making an audible sound as he rested it against his shoulder. Raine looked at the taller man and let out a loud sigh.

"Goddammit, Donny! What'd I say about bein' annoyin'?" Raine rubbed his temples as he closed his eyes, letting out another sigh. "Just lemme' do my recruitin'!"

Donny shot Raine a skeptical look before backing up a bit, but not before shooting a slight glare in the Sparrowhawk's direction. Raine looked back at the Sparrowhawk and shook his head. "Please excuse Donny 'ere. He's got a bit of an anger problem."

The Sparrowhawk shrugged. "Don't worry about it. Big brutes like him don't scare me anyway."

Donny's glare darkened as he watched the girl, gripping the base of his bat tighter and making his knuckles turn white. The Sparrowhawk narrowed her eyes at Raine, inspecting his every move. "If you've been looking for me…you know my story, right?"

Raine nodded solemnly. "I've heard snippets of it. Infiltrated Hitler's own personal regime."

Raine's smile turned wicked at the thought of this girl in front of him getting that close to the man he's planning to kill. The Sparrowhawk smirked, nodding her head at him. "I'm impressed then."

"So you'll join us on our mission ta' kill the bastard and 'is Naht-zi scum?" Raine raised an eyebrow at her in anticipation. The Sparrowhawk slowly let her eyes wander over every man standing behind Raine, bringing her eyes back to him as she sighed. "I guess helping you guys out would be a lot more thrilling than sitting in a tree all day and night picking off stray Nazi's."

"Well, damn!" Raine let out a hearty laugh and walked towards the Sparrowhawk, sticking a hand out towards her. "Welcome to the Basterds!"

The Sparrowhawk accepted his hand with a smirk, noticing out of the corner of her eye that one Basterd in particular was not too happy with their new acquaintance.

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><p>"Jus' a lil' farther up ahead." Raine motioned a hand ahead of him, signaling to the rest of the group that their resting place wasn't too far off.<p>

"Sir, why exactly was this 'Sparrowhawk' so important to recruit…if you don't mind me asking?" The man walking next to Raine, Smithson Utivich, looked warily at his captain, afraid that he might not have the right to ask such questions so soon. Raine obliged however and shrugged his shoulders.

"She's the unknown sniper. The shadow that sits in the trees and kills Naht-zi's from every direction. The Germans fear the no-named assassin and they only know that she used to be one of 'em." Raine glanced back at the Sparrowhawk, watching as she kept her gaze on the sky as she walked.

Utivich gulped and nodded. "I see. So, are you planning on using her information she gained from being a part of Hitler's company?"

"You'll see my plans soon enough, Utivich." Raine ended the conversation at that point and Utivich went quiet, watching as Raine pulled out a container of chew from his pocket.

From the back of the group Donny studied the girl walking in front of him who was seemingly oblivious to the world around her as she gazed at the sky. Wilhelm Wicki walked beside him, glancing ever so often at the Boston man to his left in annoyance; annoyed that Donny was so hellbent on getting rid of the girl and by the fact that Donny didn't trust her.

Donny's eyes studied the girl's outward appearance, taking in every inch of her from her hair to her boots. Her hair was a very dark brown, almost black, and framed her face, falling in long, loose ringlets that ended just above her breasts. Her eyes were a piercing, steely blue and sat in sockets ringed with deep black eyeliner and long lashes. She wore a green, unzipped army jacket around her small frame and had the sleeves rolled up to her elbows. Her tight black shirt was cut into a v-neck and hugged her curves, flowing into a belt with small packs that held medical supplies and ammo above dark grey shorts. Black thigh-high stockings hugged her legs and went downward into worn black, knee-high combat boots. A carrier that held a very large combat knife was wrapped around her right thigh. Donny also noticed something about her hands and arms: she wore tight wrappings around the length of her left arm and around her right hand. He wondered what that could possibly be about.

Finally, Donny's eyes skimmed over the two guns hanging from the cross-body strap she wore. The first was a French MAS 36 sniper rifle. This gun he understood, but the second gun made him curious. A German MP40 submachine gun was positioned behind the rifle.

"Hey, girl!" The Sparrowhawk tore her gaze away from the sky and glanced behind her shoulder at Donny. "Yes?"

"What's with the German gun?" He pointed a finger at the gun hanging from her back, clutching his bat tightly in his left hand. Wicki looked at the guns hanging from her back and his eyebrow rose at the submachine gun. She sighed and reached a hand back to unlatch the gun.

"I collect these from Nazi's I kill in case I have to fight on the ground or run out of rifle bullets. It's also a thrill when you get to hold the trigger and let it rain bullets on them." She admired the gun in her hands as Donny raised an eyebrow. That wasn't the simple answer he was hoping for.

"Oh." He slumped his shoulders a bit as Wicki snorted, earning a glare from the Bostonian as the Sparrowhawk latched the gun back into its holding place. When she had turned back around Donny punched Wicki in the shoulder and lowered his voice. "Shut up! I still don't trust her as far as I can hit her with my bat."

Wicki rolled his eyes. "Maybe you just like her."

"I don't like that woman! I don't even know anything about her!" Donny growled at Wicki, slamming his bat into the dirt in front of him. Wicki shook his head and rolled his eyes again. "Right."

Donny angrily opened his mouth to retort when Raine's voice interrupted him, signaling that the group had finally arrived at their destination.

"We'll rest here for the night an' then pick up our final recruit from the French prison tomorrah' mornin', bright an' early!" Raine grinned at his men as they groaned, beginning to set down their packs. The Sparrowhawk raised an eyebrow and looked at Raine. "Uh…who exactly is the guy we're rescuing from the Nazi prison?"

Raine smirked at her. "Hugo Stiglitz."

The Sparrowhawk's face contorted into a look of concern. "Jesus…that guy's a borderline maniac-"

"Which makes 'im perfect for the Basterds and our plan ta' kill Hitler!" Raine pumped a fist in the air as a few of the other Basterds let out sounds of agreement. The Sparrowhawk shrugged and set her pack down on a tree stump next to the others. She unclipped the cross-body strap that held her guns and set those down gently next to the bag before stretching out her back, hearing audible cracks as she sighed. She walked over to a log where the Basterds were beginning to set up a fire and sat down between Donny and Ulmer. Donny shot her a glare for sitting so close to him, but she failed to notice.

"I believe a few introductions are in ordah'," Raine nodded towards the Sparrowhawk and then motioned a hand to the man on his right. "This 'ere's Wilhelm Wicki. German Jew who's our current translator."

Wicki shot the Sparrowhawk a genuine smile and a nod as Raine continued, motioning to the man on his left. "This is Smithson Utivich."

Utivich gave the Sparrowhawk a shy smile which she returned. Raine motioned to the man on her right next. "That's Omar Ulmer."

Ulmer gave her a smile and a slight wave as Raine motioned to Donny last. "And this 'ere loudmouth is Donny Donowitz. Takes pride in bein' from Boston an' beats Naht-zi's heads in with a baseball bat."

Donny grinned at his description and let a "hmph" sound escape his lips as the Sparrowhawk looked at him. "The 'Bear Jew.'"

Donny looked over at her and cocked an eyebrow. "You know about me?"

The Sparrowhawk nodded. "You're the only Jew running around swinging a baseball bat at Nazi's heads, so I think I would have heard your title once or twice."

Donny's grin got a bit wider and his chest puffed out a bit as he laughed. "Well then. I guess you ain't so bad."

The Sparrowhawk didn't respond as Raine rolled his eyes. "I'm Lieutenant Aldo Raine, but you already knew that. I'm from Tennessee, born an' raised, an' got this 'ere scar from them damn Naht-zi scum. Fueled my fire to go an' kill 'em all."

The Sparrowhawk's eyes scanned over the deep scar located on Raine's neck as he ran his fingers over it and seemed to be deep in thought. The memory of how he got it, she guessed. He shook his head and snapped himself out of his thoughts, looking over at the Sparrowhawk expectantly. "Well…what about you?"

"What do you want to know?" The Sparrowhawk cocked her head to the side as she looked at Raine.

"Everythin'." Raine smiled at her reassuringly, attempting to show her that he trusted her. She sighed and then brought her gaze down to the fire as everyone watched her curiously.

"Well…I guess I should start with my real name so you can call me something other than Sparrowhawk," she brought her gaze back up to see the Basterds nodding at her. "My official name is Audrea Falco, but no one's called me that for years…at least since I escaped the Nazi regime."

Audrea shrugged and then continued. "I was born in Poland, so I'm fluent in Polish. When the Germans started to invade all over the place my family and I stayed put because we thought we were in no harm because we weren't Jewish-"

"If she ain't Jewish, why is she helping us?" Donny shot an accusing look at Audrea before Raine glared at him, clearing his throat. "Let 'er goddam finish 'er story before ya' go an' make accusations, Donowitz!"

Raine let out an annoyed sigh and then nodded at Audrea to continue. She nodded back, flicking her eyes to Donny before setting them back on the fire. "We weren't Jewish so we thought we were safe. The Nazi's didn't care, and apparently they were killing a lot more than just Jews, and there was no compromising so they shot both of my parents as my sister and I ran from the house. They caught up to my sister and killed her as I slipped into an alleyway and got away from them. That malicious hate that filled their eyes and hearts is what fueled my vengeance. I wanted to get to Hitler and take his head off myself."

Audrea's fists clenched as the men stared at her intently. "I lied my way into the regime, telling them I was German and a qualified nurse. A bunch of bullshit, but they bought all of it. Thing is…I had an uncommon accent so one of the nurse's caught on and I fled before they could get to me. I travelled to America and waited it out for a few months before coming back to try again. I then went to the forest with a sniper rifle and sat in the trees for days just picking off the wandering Nazi's when they strayed too far from the group. They had no idea where the shots were coming from, so they deemed me the 'Sparrowhawk;' an aggressive bird they couldn't see until it struck."

Raine nodded as Audrea finished. "So, you can speak Polish, huh? Any others?"

Audrea bit her lip and nodded. "German, obviously from being undercover in the regime, and English and French from travelling through those countries."

Raine's eyebrows rose in surprise and he grinned. "Well, I see you'll be comin' in handy durin' our little adventure."

Audrea chuckled at Raine's excitement. "I'll try to help you guys as much as I can. I just want to see Hitler die for what his Nazi's did to my family."

Raine and the other Basterds nodded at her in agreement and understanding. The fire began to die down and Raine told the group to head to bed and prepare for an early morning tomorrow, ordering Wicki and Ulmer to stand watch over the camp. Audrea made her way over to the tree stump where her pack and guns sat, opening the pack to remove two small blankets. She heard someone's boots crunching the various leaves and twigs lying on the ground as they walked towards her and she glanced over her shoulder, seeing Donny coming into view.

"I still don't trust you fully, so I'm sleeping right here in case I have to bash your head in when you make any rash decisions." Donny eyed her as she shrugged and continued to spread out one of the blankets over the ground. "Suit yourself, Donowitz."

Donny glared at her from lack of reaction and threw his pack down next to hers, setting his bat down next to her blanket. She watched as he spread out a blanket dangerously close to hers as she removed her jacket, setting it on top of her pack. She cocked an eyebrow at how close they both were as she removed the knife carrier from her thigh and threw it next to her other things before lying down on her side on top of the blanket facing Donny, pulling the second blanket over her torso. Donny lied down on his side facing her, closing one eye and keeping the other wide open. "I'm going to sleep with one eye open, so don't pull nothin', Falco."

Audrea rolled her eyes before closing them and snuggling into her blanket.

"Whatever, Donowitz."


	2. Interrogation and New Feelings

"Wake the fuck up, Donowitz! We's goin' to be late because you can't be trusted to wake up on time!" Raine kicked the Bostonian in the ribs and earned a displeased grunt in response as Donny rolled over and clutched his side, Audrea snorting as she reattached the cross-body strap around her chest. Raine glared down at him before looking up at Audrea. "Make sure 'e gets up."

"Yes, sir." Audrea grinned down at Donny as he kept his eyes squeezed shut, opening one when he heard a giggle from beside him. Audrea had her hands securely on her hips as she looked down at him, a smirk tugging at her lips as she pushed the toe of her boot gently into his side. "You heard him. Get the fuck up-"

"I ain't deaf!" Audrea snorted again at his outburst and rolled her eyes, shaking her head as she picked up her knife carrier. Donny watched her with both eyes open now as she placed her foot on top of the tree stump, strapping the carrier to her right thigh. At that moment Donny realized just how long and strong her legs were.

"You done staring, Donowitz? We're going to leave without your lazy ass." Audrea shot him a look before grabbing her pack and turning to walk towards the rest of the group. Donny glared after her, but then noticed his eyes lowering towards her ass, taking in how it moved as she walked and grinning. Donny realized what he was looking at and snapped himself out of it, scolding himself as he sat up. _No. What the hell am I thinking? I can't trust that Pollock!_

He grunted as he stood, stretching and hearing his back crack audibly before packing his blankets back into his pack. He grabbed his pack and swung it over his right shoulder before grabbing his bat and heading towards the group, meeting the gaze of an annoyed Raine. "About time 'ya show up!"

"Sorry." He grumbled as he stood next to Audrea, hearing her chuckle in triumph as he whipped his gaze down to glare at her.

"Now…we'll be bustin' through the Naht-zi prison where they're holdin' Stiglitz-"

"Excuse me sir, but wouldn't it be better if we tried to quietly bust in? Like…stealthily?" Audrea cocked an eyebrow at Raine and he chuckled at her, shaking his head. "I ain't one for quiet introductions, so we're goin' in guns a' blazin'."

Audrea nodded, still not convinced it was the best idea, and listened to the rest of Raine's plan. When Raine finished his speech the group began their trek towards the prison, Donny and Wicki picking up the rear once again with Audrea in front of them. Donny mumbled to himself as he glared at the brunette, earning an amused chuckle from Wicki. "Man…you got it bad for that girl."

Donny shot him an annoyed glance. "You're delusional."

"Yeah…_I'm _delusional." Wicki scoffed and Donny sneered at him, stopping and pushing the top of his bat into Wiki's chest. "I told you I ain't got it bad!"

Audrea glanced behind her and sighed. "Are you talking about me, Donowitz? I don't appreciate you talking about me behind my back."

"I ain't talkin' about you!" Donny yelled ahead of him at the brunette as she sighed again, Raine turning around to look at the group behind him. "Problem back there?"

"No, sir." Audrea answered for the group as Raine nodded and turned forward once again. The group remained silent the rest of the way towards the prison until they made their way towards a back entrance. Raine peeked around a corner before nodding to his group, keeping his voice low. "Guns a' blazin'."

The group smirked at him as he counted to three silently, turning around quickly and kicking the door down. Raine and Donny took the front of the group, shooting every Nazi in sight as the group made their way towards the cells. Another door was kicked down and Raine shot a Nazi leaning on a window sill before Donny shot another one through the newspaper he was reading. Hugo Stiglitz glanced up from his sitting position on a bench in his cell as a group of men came into view. His eyebrow rose when he noticed a girl come into view last, picking the cigarette from his mouth and letting out a long puff of smoke.

"Hugo Stiglitz?" Raine walked to the front of the cell that held the German Jew, raising an eyebrow in questioning. Before Hugo could answer him a groan sounded from one of the Nazi's the men had shot. Audrea lifted her submachine gun and shot him in the head without a second thought, nobody flinching. Wicki laughed at her, whispering in her direction. "Jesus, Audrea. No mercy."

"Yeah…well…the groaning was going to get annoying." She rolled her eyes at the amused looks coming from the rest of the men as Raine kept his gaze on Hugo. He stood up from the bench and walked to the bars of the cell, raising an eyebrow at Raine and remaining silent.

"We're here to rescue you. Heard you's good at killin' Naht-zi's, an' I like that." Raine grinned at him and Hugo let out a low chuckle. Audrea ran the headlines of Hugo Stiglitz through her mind as she stared at him. _Hugo Stiglitz: His celebrity among the German soldiers was easy to explain: He had enlisted in the German army and became a Nazi, then revolted and killed thirteen Gestapo officers- mostly Majors. Apparently, the Nazi's were attempting to take him back to Berlin and make an example of him._

"I'm Lieutenant Aldo Raine. We're the Basterds…ever heard of us?" Raine raised an eyebrow as he leaned his gun against his left shoulder, waiting for Hugo to answer. Hugo nodded once and Raine smiled. "Like I said, we're a real fan of your work, an' we want you to join us. Yes? Yes. Now we'll get you out a here."

Raine pointed at the group behind him and looked around at the various dead Nazi's. "Search for the key an' get 'im out a there."

Wicki and Ulmer moved around the dead bodies and searched their clothes as Raine chuckled and smiled to himself. Wicki jingled the key in his hand when he found it and walked forward to Raine, handing him the key. Raine handed his gun to Wicki and then walked to the cell, shoving the key in its hole and opening the cell door. Hugo walked forward, flicking the cigarette he was smoking into the corner and then looking at Raine. Raine stuck a hand out towards Hugo and shot him another smile.

"Welcome to the Basterds!"

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><p>After breaking Hugo out of the French Nazi prison, the Basterds continued their aimless trek towards another clearing to rest. Hugo took to the far back of the group and kept his eye intently on his surroundings. Audrea bit her cheek and glanced behind her at the German man, staring at his worn out appearance. She slowed her walk and matched her pace to his, walking side by side. She stared up at him until he finally noticed, glancing down at her with an eyebrow cocked.<p>

"I have to say, Stiglitz. I'm impressed by your work. I mean…you really fucked those Nazi's up." Audrea's eyebrows scrunched together and then she laughed, grinning widely up at Hugo. He studied her for a moment, amused by her carefree nature, and then cracked a smile, nodding down at her. "Thank you."

Hugo paused for a few moments as Audrea looked ahead at the road before turning back to her. "You are the Sparrowhawk, correct?"

Audrea looked up at him and nodded. "Yep."

"So, it's true you can kill a Nazi with one deadly shot every time? You never miss?" Hugo stared down at her, anticipating her answer. Audrea felt her cheeks get a bit hot as he subtly complimented her, nodding her head. "I've never missed a shot yet, so…yeah, I can kill a Nazi in a single blow to the head."

Hugo chuckled and caused Audrea's smile to widen. She felt like she and the German Jew were going to be comfortable friends. The group stepped into a large clearing surrounded by forest and Raine directed them to rest here for the time being. Audrea whipped her head back and forth taking in the surroundings when she noticed a large- and very dark –tunnel located towards the back of the clearing. She walked over towards it and peered in.

"Hellooooo?" She yelled into the blackness and squinted in an attempt to see anything.

"What are you doing?" Audrea jumped at Donny's sudden voice and whipped around, placing a hand to her chest as Donny looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Don't sneak up on me like that!"

"You're the one who has their guard down and their back turned." Donny thought his voice was low enough that Audrea wouldn't hear him, but he was surprised when she shot him a glare and stuck her tongue out. He shook his head and sighed. "Grow up."

"Don't tell me what to do, Donowitz." She turned her back on him once again as she walked farther back into the tunnel, stopping just short of the back wall and setting her pack down on the ground.

"Donowitz! Falco!" Donny and Audrea turned to the tunnel's entrance as they heard Raine call their names, walking into view at the opening just moments later. He looked into the tunnel as Audrea walked towards the front to stand next to Donny. "You two take the day watch. I'll give you the night off."

"Yes, sir." Donny and Audrea answered him in unison as he walked back to the fire the other men were beginning to build. Audrea removed the cross-body strap that held her weapons and unlatched the sniper rifle, setting the submachine gun and the strap against the wall. She reached around on her belt and opened one of the packs, picking out a bullet. Donny watched her quietly as she loaded the chamber flipping the trap back into place with a click. She looked up at Donny who was still staring at her and cocked an eyebrow, resting the rifle on her left shoulder. "Shall we?"

Donny nodded and motioned his hand outward for her to lead the way. She walked past him out of the tunnel and turned left, heading into the forest. She looked back and forth at the various trees lining the small path, looking for one tree that would be easy to climb and hold her weight.

"Here." Audrea motioned at a large tree in front of her. Donny looked at the trunk of the tree and then let his eyes trail upward. The tree was thick at the trunk and the branches were sturdy, holding thick green leaves at the ends. He snapped his gaze back down to the base when he saw Audrea coming toward him, startling him when she shoved the rifle into his grasp. "Hold this until I get high enough to a point where I can survey the area then hand it back up to me."

"What about me?" Donny's voice held a hint of annoyance and Audrea turned her head to glance at him over her shoulder. She shrugged and grabbed one of the lower branches, beginning to haul herself up into the tree. "I don't know. Survey the ground?"

Donny walked forward and looked up the tree, seeing Audrea already halfway up. He scrunched his eyebrows together and then huffed. "What if I get shot on the ground because you don't like me and don't tell me that those jackasses are coming?"

Audrea huffed lightly as she sat down on one of the sturdy branches, bouncing a bit to test it. She nodded at its sturdiness and then looked down at Donny, motioning for him to hand her the rifle. "Why don't you just try to climb the damn tree and sit up here with me if you don't trust me?"

She grabbed the barrel of the rifle and hauled it up, setting it on her lap as she cocked an eyebrow and shot Donny a smirk. Donny glared up at her and then lowered his gaze to the branch right above his head.

"Why don't you climb the damn tree?" Audrea let out a chuckle when she heard Donny mocking her, reaching his bat up towards Audrea who grabbed ahold of the base and pulled it up. Donny closed his eyes and huffed once before grabbing the lowest branch. He easily pulled himself up with the amount of upper body strength he had built up, but then stopped short when he heard the branch crack slightly.

"Don't worry about that. I can see from here that it would take a lot more weight for that branch to crack off," Donny looked warily up at Audrea as she watched him carefully, her eyes darting between the various branches around him to find the strongest ones. "Grab the one above you to the left."

Donny nodded as she pointed at the specific branch. He reached an arm out and grabbed the branch, hauling himself higher into the tree. He smirked as he sat on the branch, looking up at Audrea who held surprise in her eyes. "This ain't so hard."

"Don't get cocky, Donowitz-"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Just sit up there and shut your mouth." Audrea glared down at him as he eyed the branch to his right, reaching a hand out and grabbing ahold of it. His smirk widened as he pulled himself over to it, looking up at Audrea again. "What did I tell-"

Audrea's eyes went wide and she bolted upright on the branch as Donny's branch cracked and he fell downward, landing hard on his stomach on the branch below him. Donny groaned in pain and Audrea snorted loudly, attempting to hold back laughter when she realized he wasn't injured.

"This ain't so hard." It was her time to mock him as he regained his composure and glared up at her, reaching an arm up. "Shut your damn mouth and help me up."

"I don't know. I should just let you lay there in agony for a few more minutes-"

"Fuck you, Falco! Help me up!" Donny barked up at her and she glared harder, leaning her rifle and his bat against the tree before jumping easily down to the branch below her. She planted her feet on the branch and then leaned down, reaching an arm out to Donny. He grabbed her forearm and she took in a sharp breath when she felt what she thought was electricity shoot through her arm all the way up to her shoulder. She pulled him as he hauled his body up onto the branch, sitting down and letting out a sigh of relief when he was on a sturdy one. She stretched her arm out as it throbbed slightly from pulling Donny's weight and then began to climb back to the branch just above him.

"Thanks." Audrea looked back and saw Donny looking up at her with the first genuine smile she had seen him wear since she had met him. She shrugged and shot him a smile that was just as genuine. "Don't mention it."

She hauled herself onto the branch she had previously occupied and sat down, grabbing her rifle and Donny's bat from their leaning positions against the tree. She scooted herself all the way back against the trunk and leaned her back against it, lowering the bat to Donny who took it with a nod. She sighed and narrowed her eyes, searching the surrounding area as she laid her rifle across her lap.

At least twenty minutes had passed since the two had climbed the tree and both were beginning to get bored. Audrea heard an annoyed grumble come from below her and she raised an eyebrow, looking down to see Donny running a hand up and down his bat. "This is fucking ridiculous. You think those fuckers would have been stupid enough by now to come our way," he paused as he held the bat out at arm's length with both hands, gripping the base. "I want some action! I want to kill-"

"Shut up!" Audrea hissed down at him in a low whisper as her eyes darted to an area just below them where she heard rustling. She shot up quietly and stood on the branch, aiming the rifle at the area the noises were coming from as Donny's eyes went wide. He followed the direction of the rifle's target and squinted, seeing three German soldiers come into view. Their weapons were raised in anticipation of an attack.

"Shit," Audrea cursed at herself as she leaned down, keeping an eye on the three soldiers as she whispered towards Donny. "Listen to me and listen carefully."

Donny nodded at her as she continued, glancing at the three men on the ground. "I'm going to wait until they're directly under us past the tree we're in. I can jump down behind them without them hearing me and keep my weapon on them. I need you to jump down right on top of them when I give you the signal…a wave."

Audrea made a waving motion as Donny raised an eyebrow. "You want me to jump right on top of them? Isn't that a bit rash?"

"It may sound crazy, but if we catch them off guard enough and you manage to knock them all over, their weapons should fall out of their hands and I can take them away from them. We'll just lead them back to Raine when they're unarmed." Audrea kept her voice low as she watched the three men again, noticing they were close to where she wanted them to be. She shot a smirk at Donny and placed her left pointer finger to her lips before jumping backwards and straight down out of the tree. Donny's eyes went wide and he leaned forward just in time to see Audrea land eerily quiet behind the guards, her rifle raised in front of her as she crouched a bit. _This was the quiet of a true sniper._ She positioned the rifle right behind the head of the middle soldier, waiting a few moments before raising her left hand. Donny took his signal and looked down, jumping down from the branch.

"Surprise, fuckers!" Donny's voice rang out and the soldiers looked up just in time to see Donny land on them, forcing them to the ground. He flattened his bat on the backs of all three men as Audrea moved forward, kicking their guns to the side. She lowered her rifle to the face of the middle soldier, his eyes gazing up at hers with fear as his hands went up in surrender.

"State your business." Audrea's voice was stern as all three soldiers stayed quiet. Donny pushed the bat down harder making all three of them jump. "The lady asked you a fuckin' question!"

"Wir ficken patrouillieren, was denkst du?! (We're fucking patrolling, what do you think?!)" The middle soldier screamed at Donny, earning a slap to the head from him. "Is that any way to talk in front of a girl?"

"Sie sagte nur ficken (You just said fuck-)-"

"I said shut up!" Donny barked at all three of them and they went silent, Audrea rolling her eyes at Donny's overly-aggressive manner.

"We'll take them back to Raine," Audrea motioned her gun upwards. "Get up, all of you and follow me."

"Get up and follow her!" Donny removed his bat from their backs, allowing them all to stand up before prodding the middle soldier with the head of the bat and making him stumble forward. "Get goin'!"

Audrea turned around and lowered her rifle to her side, beginning to walk back to where Raine and the others were stationed. When they reached the camp Donny gave the soldiers one last shove making one soldier fall to his knees, knocking into the back of Audrea's legs. She stumbled a bit and whipped around, shoving the rifle into the soldier's face. "Careful or I might blow your head back to Berlin."

He gulped loudly as she smirked down at him and repositioned the gun over her left shoulder, walking up to where Raine was seated on a small hill by the tunnel. "We found three Nazi's, sir."

Raine looked up at her as she smirked, motioning behind her. Raine looked over to where Donny was smirking behind three Nazi soldiers and grinned, slapping his hands together. "Well, this is just perfect! Bring 'em over 'ere!"

"Get moving!" Donny prodded all three again and they stumbled forward as they made their way towards Raine. They fell to their knees when they reached him and Utivich and Ulmer moved to stand behind the other two.

"Who's the leader 'ere?" Raine motioned between all three of them and then dug out a map from his coat pocket. One of the soldiers raised their hand and Donny forced him forward, kneeling him in front of Raine. Wicki smirked from above Raine as Donny walked backwards towards the tunnel. He walked past Audrea and she raised an eyebrow. "Where do you think you're going?"

He just smirked at her. "This is where it gets really good, sweetheart."

He walked into the tunnel and disappeared into the blackness, leaving Audrea to stare after him in confusion. She sighed and then walked towards the small hill Raine and Wicki were positioned on, walking up to sit against the wall next to Wicki.

"English?" Raine pointed at the soldier and he nodded.

"What's yer' name, soldier?" Raine looked expectantly at the officer who was now glaring at him with confidence. "Sergeant Werner Rachtman."

"Well, Werner. You know who I am, don't you?" Raine grinned at him, raising an eyebrow. Rachtman rolled his eyes a bit and then spit out Raine's name. "Aldo the Apache."

"Hear that, boys? He knows dear ol' me," Raine grinned wider at Rachtman as the rest of the Basterds laughed loudly. "Now…mind tellin' us where the rest of your crew is?"

Raine unfolded the map in his hand and held it towards Rachtman. He began drawing various lines on the map as he spoke. "Up the road apiece, there's an orchard. Now, besides you, we know there's another kraut patrol fuckin' here somewhere. Now if that patrol were to have any crackshots, 'at orchard would be a goddamn sniper's de-light. Now if you ever want to eat a sauerkraut sandwich again, you gotta show me on this map where they are, you gotta tell me how many there are, and you gotta tell me what kinda artillery they're carryin' with 'em."

Rachtman raised an eyebrow at Raine. "You can't expect me to divulge information that would put German lives in danger?"

Raine sighed and removed his hat, running a hand through his hair. "Well, Werner…that's where you're wrong, because that's exactly what I expect. I need to know about Germans hidin' in them trees, an' you need to tell me, an' you need to tell me right now. Now take your finger an' point out on this map where this party's bein' held, how many's coming, an' what they brought to play with."

Rachtman's face remained unchanged. "I respectfully refuse."

A loud crack could be heard in the tunnel and the Basterd's made various sounds of anticipation. Audrea looked around at the smiling faces of the men, cocking an eyebrow. _What?_

"Hear that? That's Sergeant Donny Donowitz, but you might know 'im better by his nickname… The 'Bear Jew.' Now, if you heard of Aldo the Apache, you gotta have heard of the 'Bear Jew.'" Raine raised both of his eyebrows at Rachtman as Audrea put two and two together. She chuckled lightly to herself when she came to a realization. "Oh."

"I have heard of the Bear Jew." Rachtman nodded.

"What did you hear about 'im, Werner?" Raine leaned back on his elbow and looked expectantly at Rachtman.

Rachtman sighed lightly before answering. "He beats German soldiers with a club."

"He bashes their brains in with a baseball bat is what 'e does," Raine let out one loud laugh. "Now, Werner, I'm gonna ask you one more goddamn time, an' if you still 'respectfully refuse,' I'm callin' the Bear Jew over here, an' he's gonna take that big bat of his an' he's gonna beat you to death with it. Now…take your wiener schnitzel lickin' finger an' point out on this map what I want to know."

Raine sat up and shoved the map towards Rachtman again, earning a glare in response. "Fuck you," Rachtman spat at Raine before looking at every person standing around. "And your Jew dogs!"

All of the Basterds laughed loudly as Raine folded up the map he was holding. "Actually, Werner, we're all tickled to hear you say that. Frankly, watchin' Donny beat Naht-zi's to death is the closest we ever get to goin' to the movies."

Raine pulled out a bread roll from his pocket and then glanced back towards the tunnel. "Donny!"

There was a pause before a voice called back. "Yeah?"

Audrea snorted at the way he answered and then watched Raine walk a bit farther up the small hill. "We got a German here who wants to die for his country! Oblige him!"

The sound of Donny's bat banging against the tunnel walls echoed through the air as the Basterds cheered in anticipation of seeing him bashing in the head of another Nazi. Rachtman stared at the tunnel and waited for the Bear Jew to come into sight, fear no longer in his eyes or written on his face. A few moments later Donny emerged, swinging the bat around and wearing a malicious grin. The Basterds rang out in loud applause and various hoots and hollers. Audrea laughed as she shook her head, bringing her eyes back to Donny's form as she clapped along with them. She noticed his jacket was off now, leaving him in just a wife beater with various pieces of metal fashioned around his neck like necklaces. She couldn't help but take in how his biceps flexed as he gripped the bat.

Donny glared down at Rachtman and then at the medals on his jacket, tapping them with the head of his bat. "Did you get those for killin' Jews?"

He cocked an eyebrow at Rachtman who glared back up at him. "Bravery."

Donny nodded before bringing his bat out in front of him, lining it up with Rachtman's head. He paused a moment before arching it back and then bringing it down on the side of Rachtman's skull. The sickening crack echoed through the area as the Basterds made pleased sounds. Donny repeatedly beat Rachtman's head in, bashing it until his face was unrecognizable. The two other Nazi's watched in horror with one of them flinching and letting out a few disgusted tears.

With one last growl of rage Donny landed one solid hit to Rachtman's head, backing away from him and holding his arms out in triumph, looking to the sky. "Johnny fuckin' Williams knocks it outta the park! Fenway Park! Fenway Park on its feet for Teddy fuckin' Ballgame! He went yardo on that one, out to fuckin' Lansdowne Street! " Donny whipped around and pointed at one of the other Nazi's. "You!"

The Nazi quickly stumbled up, running towards Rachtman, only to be shot down on the spot by Ulmer. Raine sighed loudly and glared at him. "Dammit, Ulmer," he shoved the last of the bread roll in his mouth and reached back into his pocket for the map. "Donny, bring that other one over here. Alive!"

Donny walked forward and shoved the head of his bat into the back of the last soldier. "Get the fuck up! Batter up, you're on deck!"

Donny forced the soldier forward and then pushed him down, keeping the bat close to his head. "Two hits: I hit you, you hit the ground."

Raine nodded at Donny and continued to chew the bread roll that was in his mouth, cocking an eyebrow at the soldier. "English?"

"Nein." The quick response came from the terrified soldier and Raine nodded, motioning behind him. "Wicki."

Wicki nodded and quickly made his way towards Raine, stepping over Audrea's outstretched legs. He stopped between the soldier and Raine, looking down at them. Raine grabbed a canteen and brought it to his mouth, nodding at Wicki before he took a drink. "Ask him if he wants to live."

Audrea blocked out the rest of the short interrogation, relaxing against the wall of the tunnel. She let her eyes wander towards Donny as he stood watch behind the Nazi. This was the first time she had really gotten to look at him; really look at him. She watched his eyes stare down menacingly at the Nazi in front of him, his strong face holding eyes that told the story of a cold Nazi killer. Everything about him was strong and alpha male-like; his arms were large, holding biceps that flexed with joy when he was gripping his bat in anticipation of bashing it against a skull. His chest was well chiseled and the stained wife beater he wore showed that off. Suspenders wrapped around his chest and over his broad shoulders all the way down his back. His strong legs were planted in place, holding the sturdy man that was ready to kill again. Audrea was fascinated, turned on, and intimidated all at the same time.

"Thank you for your cooperation, Butz." Raine's voice snapped Audrea out of her trance, her eyes snapping to him as he folded the map up one last time. He looked at Wicki. "Ask him what he plans to do when he gets back home?"

Wicki translated the sentence into German and Butz paused for a moment before answering. "Ich plane, nicht mehr ein Nazi sein."

"Says he no longer plans to be a Nazi." Raine smiled at Butz as Wicki translated, nodding. "Ask him what he plans to do with his uniform."

Wicki spoke to Butz who paused once again before answering. "Ich plane, es zu verbrennen."

"Says he'll burn it." Wicki smiled, knowing that answer wasn't going to be enough to get him off the hook with Raine.

Raine smiled down at the ground and then brought his gaze back to Butz. "You see…that ain't enough. How do I know you'll keep that promise?"

Butz shook his head, not understanding, as Raine stood up. He walked forward and tipped the hat Butz was wearing to expose his forehead. He brought his hand underneath Butz's chin and lifted his head, examining his forehead. "I'm gonna give you a little somethin' you can't take off."

Donny moved to stand next to him as Raine pulled a knife from his pants. He brought the knife forward and dug it into Butz's forehead, emitting a scream from the Nazi. A few moments later both men moved back to admire their work. A Swastika was clearly drawn into Butz's forehead, blood still oozing in droplets from the wound.

"You know, Lieutenant…you're getting pretty good at that." Donny grinned at the mark as Raine nodded, turning his head to admire it from a different angle. "You know how you get to Carnegie Hall, don't ya? Practice."

Donny smirked as Raine pulled Butz to his feet. He stumbled a bit as Raine steadied him. "Now you go back to your officer an' tell 'em who did this, you hear?"

A woozy Butz nodded, earning a hard shove from Raine. "Get goin' then!"

Raine and Donny grinned as Butz stumbled quickly away, laughing when he was out of sight.

"Now we're gettin' somewhere."

* * *

><p><em>What the hell does it mean then? I mean, the guy's an asshole- and not just to me. He doesn't trust me and I'm pretty sure he would bash my head in like Werner's if I happen to do something he doesn't like or say something out of line. Fuck…<em>

Audrea bit her lip hard, groaning as she laid her head back against the wall of the tunnel. She stared up at the ceiling as the last of the natural daylight sunk behind the mountains with the sun, leaving the surrounding area in darkness; the only visible light coming from the fire Raine and Ulmer were sitting around. She was deep in concentration about the thoughts that ran through her head as she watched Donny interrogate and kill the three Nazi soldiers from earlier. She didn't want to like him like that, but it seemed her heart had different ideas.

"Hey." Audrea's head snapped to the side when she heard a voice, groaning as a subtle feeling of whiplash took over. She closed her eyes as she rubbed her neck, reopening them and glancing up to see Donny making a face down at her. _Speak of the devil_.

"Hey." She gave Donny a nod as he stepped over her legs, setting down his pack and bat against the wall of the tunnel. Audrea watched him as he bent down and unlatched the pack, pulling out two blankets. He stood up and shook one out, laying it down on the ground.

"Fenway Park, huh? That in Boston where you grew up?" Audrea crossed her arms and her legs, glancing over at Donny as he shook out the second blanket. He smirked without looking back at her and nodded. "Yeah…best baseball stadium in the entire United States."

Audrea nodded to herself and then paused for a moment. "Do you miss it?"

"Do you miss Poland?" Without missing a beat Donny replied to her, turning around to face her this time. She sighed and then shrugged. "I guess…I mean, I _could_ go the rest of my life living somewhere else and not go back."

Donny nodded at her and then chuckled, shaking his head and crossing his arms. "That's not the answer I was looking for, but…I really do miss Boston at this point. I've been in France way too long hunting these bastards down."

Audrea didn't say anything as a silence hung between them, Donny suddenly breaking it when he coughed. "Anyway…I hope you know I still don't trust you and am sleeping here next to you once again in case I have to bash another head in."

Audrea couldn't catch any hint of playfulness or joking in his voice and she inwardly rolled her eyes, standing up from the wall and walking over to her own blanket. "Yeah…"

She removed her jacket and draped it over her pack and guns, removing the knife carrier from her thigh and sticking it just above her blanket by the pack; just in case she needed it in a panic. She sat down on her blanket and reached down to begin untying the laces on her boots, glancing up in time to see Donny remove his wife beater and drape it over his pack. Audrea stopped moving and stared at the muscles in his back as they flexed, her breathing hitching in her throat. He kicked off his boots and then lied down, noticing Audrea was frozen in her spot. Donny cocked an eyebrow at her. "What the fuck is wrong with you, Falco?"

Audrea's eyes snapped up at his words, landing on his amused face. She glared at him and then just pulled off her boots, throwing them in a pile next to her pack. She lied down and pulled the cover over her body, shutting her eyes and leaving Donny in a confused state. Audrea cracked an eye open and looked at him, continuing to glare. _Asshole…making me have feelings for once in my life…_

Donny kept his eyes locked on Audrea's form as he placed his head in his hand. His eyes wandered down the length of her body before he realized she was shivering. He leaned forward and poked her on the shoulder, watching as one of her eyes cracked open to look at him. "You're shivering."

She grumbled and then turned away from him, pulling the blanket tighter around her shaking body. "I am not."

"Then what do you call that shaking?" He whispered over at her, getting annoyed for a reason he didn't understand. Audrea rolled her eyes. "I am not, Donowitz, so just go to sleep."

This time Donny glared, huffing and then reaching his arms out towards her. Audrea's eyes shot open when she felt her body being pulled backwards and she rolled over, pushing her palms into Donny's shoulders and glaring at him. "What in the hell do you think you're doing, Donowitz?!"

"You're goddam shivering, Falco, and if you die because of your stubborn, bull-headed ass and hypothermia, Raine will have my head." Donny stated what he said matter-of-factly and Audrea glared harder, attempting to slip out of his grasp. "I don't care. Let me go!"

Donny's fingers dug into her hipbones as she struggled, pulling her taut against his chest. He felt her cease her struggle after a moment and then looked down to see her grumbling to herself. Donny smirked inwardly and then lied on his back, Audrea's head settling softly on his chest.

"There. That's better." Audrea stopped her protest and gave in, glancing up at Donny as he closed his eyes. She brought her gaze downward and over his arms and chest, fighting the urge to reach out and sweep her hand over the sculpted areas. _Don't do it…he's going to bash your head in…_

Audrea bit her lip hard, fighting with herself internally.

_Ah, fuck it._

Audrea's hand slowly reached out and she lightly ran her hand from his shoulder down to his bicep, just barely touching the skin. She looked up and noticed he hadn't moved and smirked inwardly. She flicked her wrist and brought her hand down fully, her palm moving over every curve and indent along his bicep. She slid her hand farther up and over his shoulder, a tremble going through the length of her body as her hand took in the feeling of his collarbone.

"What are you doing?" Donny's question didn't seem to faze her, feeling she was already in too deep to go back now. Her hand travelled down to his chest, sliding over his pectoral muscles before sliding down further to take in the crevices of his abs. Audrea was taken aback when her form was suddenly pushed over, Donny leaning over her and holding her arms down by her sides with his hands on her wrists. She stared up at him as he watched her curiously, straddling her waist to keep her pinned down. "You should probably stop that."

Audrea didn't say anything for a moment and then gave him a sly smirk, shrugging her shoulders. "I do what I want, Donowitz."

He was intrigued by her confidence- as he always was -and shot her his own sly smirk. "Is that so?"

Audrea nodded at him as he released her wrists, sitting up. "Stop."

"I'm not even doing anything," Audrea raised an eyebrow at him, smirking and throwing her hand forward to trail down the side of his torso. "But now I am."

Donny held back a shudder at the feeling of her hand on his body and instead glared down at her, hiding the fact that he did take a liking to the girl. "Stop."

Audrea brought her other hand to the other side of his torso, both hands now sliding up and down. She watched his eyes as she brought her hands upward, placing both of them on his pecks before smirking up at him. "I told you, I-"

Audrea was cut off when Donny leaned forward suddenly, roughly placing his lips over hers. Her palms were smashed against his chest as he pushed his body against hers and both of their mouths moved eagerly with the other; the result of angry sexual tension. Donny trailed his hands down her body, digging his thumbs into her hipbones as he roughly grabbed her hips and forcing her to moan into his mouth. Audrea's hands trailed up to his shoulders and then up his neck, tangling themselves in his dark hair as their mouths continued to move together. Audrea felt him slide his tongue over her bottom lip and she obliged, feeling his tongue dart into her mouth immediately and entangle with her own.

Both felt the familiar heat in both of their abdomens as Donny grabbed Audrea's thighs, slinging them around his waist as he thrust his pelvis into her own. Donny moaned from the mere contact and Audrea felt the hard bulge in his crotch, moaning out. Donny trailed his hands down once more, grabbing her lower thighs just above her ass and earning another groan from the brunette. Audrea's hands moved downward towards his stomach, shoving her hips up to grind against his and making him let out a low groan.

Someone cleared their throat and tore the two out of their short moment of bliss, forcing them to immediately separate. Audrea remained on her back as Donny sat up on his hands above her, both looking to the entrance of the tunnel and seeing Raine grinning at them. "I don't mean to interrupt this little shindig you got goin' on in here, but when you two start suckin' face again could you let one of us know so we can keep guard? I wouldn't want both of your pretty little heads gettin' shot off at the same time now because they can hear you rustlin' around from a mile away."

Raine grinned at them as they remained silent. "Okay now. You get some sleep. Nighty night."

Raine chuckled to himself as he walked back to his sleeping spot, leaving the two to stare after him. Audrea sighed and rubbed her eyes. "I am thoroughly embarrassed. Raine of all people…"

Donny chuckled as he fell to the side of her body, grabbing her around the waist and pulling her towards him. She obliged him and placed her head against his chest, her eyebrows scrunching together. "I'm more professional that that…I have an image to protect-"

"You can't be a hardass all of the time. You have to show vulnerability at some point...you're a girl, you know." Donny's eyes were closed as he placed his head on top of hers. She stayed silent for a moment and then closed her eyes, wondering when he had become so sincere.

"Maybe…but that's just not me."


	3. Death's Door

"Who's this guy again?" Raine raised an eyebrow as Wicki stood against the windowsill of the small tavern the Basterds were cooped up in for the time being. Wicki cleared his throat and looked at Raine. "Film critic Lieutenant Archie Hicox. They want me and Hugo to go in there and "rendezvous" with their agent Bridget von Hammersmark as undercover Nazi's."

Raine leaned back in his chair and nodded at him. "When are they supposed to get here?"

Wicki glanced out the window and then shrugged. "Not too long now."

In one of the back rooms Hugo sat sharpening a large knife as Audrea sat leaning against the wall and polishing her rifle. She glanced up at the knife Hugo held and grinned. "How many people you kill with that thing?"

"Enough." Hugo smiled at her and she laughed, cocking the rifle before setting a single bullet in the chamber. The door to the tavern opened and in stepped Hicox. Raine stood up from his chair and it scraped back against the floor from the force. He walked over to Hicox and extended a hand. "You said this "rendezvous" would be in a tavern, not in a basement."

Hicox nodded at him and took his hand back. "It is a tavern…I just didn't plan that all of them would be in the basement," Hicox shrugged at Raine and looked around the room. "They're taking the back entrance so you all should be safe in this room."

"So what's the plan if you all get yourselves into a pickle down there?" Donny raised a critical eyebrow as he lied on the small bed in the corner, his hands resting behind his head. Hicox looked at him and then shrugged, unlatching a small hidden pistol from his belt. "We'll use these if we have to. We can't be taking big guns down there to attract attention to the fact we're frauds. I plan that there will be no confrontations and we'll get our plans done before the night is over."

Hugo and Audrea walked into the room and Hicox looked at them, his eyes widening in Audrea's direction. "Can it be? The 'Sparrowhawk' the Germans are so afraid of?"

"You know her, huh?" Raine grinned at him, excited that people were recognizing his recruits. Hicox nodded at him and strolled forward, placing a hand on her shoulder. Her eyes bore into his in distrust as he failed to notice and just smiled at her. "They say you are as quiet as the black of night…and fast. Kill Nazi's with a single bullet."

"Something like that." She smirked at him, Donny snorting at the knife that was now pointed at Hicox's side; should he make any sudden movements. Raine noticed this and cleared his throat, glaring at Audrea. "We need this one, darlin'. Don't kill 'im."

Hicox glanced back at Raine and then backed away from Audrea, his wide eyes landing on the knife in her hand. "I didn't even hear you unsheathe that. You really are as good as they claim."

Audrea just nodded at him, placing the knife back in its carrier on her thigh and crossing her arms. She sat back on the edge of the bed Donny was lying on as Hicox chuckled, looking over to Wicki and Hugo. He brought out two more small pistols from under his jacket and handed them to the two Basterds. "Should we need to use force to get out of a situation, hide these and use them."

Hugo and Wicki took the pistols from Hicox and placed them in their German uniforms. Hicox turned back to Raine one last time, nodding. "We should go now before they get suspicious."

"Don't kill my men, Lieutenant." Raine crossed his arms and watched Hicox descend down the stairs first. Audrea stood up quickly and grabbed Hugo's arm, forcing him to turn to her with an eyebrow raised. "Don't go and get yourself killed, Stiglitz," She smirked and nodded over at Wicki who was smiling at her. "You, too, Wicki."

"We'll see you soon, sweetheart." Wicki gave her a slight bow before descending down the stairs. Audrea's attention was directed back to Hugo as he grabbed her left hand by the fingers. He raised it to his mouth before giving it a slight kiss, shooting her a wink before turning and walking down the stairs. Raine groaned and sat down heavily in a chair. "Now why'd you have to go an' make that so sentimental?"

Audrea shrugged at him and crossed her arms. "They're two of my favorite people. I don't want them dead."

Audrea heard a groan come from Donny at the statement of favorites and smirked. She walked backwards and fell down hard onto his legs, causing him to grunt and pull his legs upward a bit and force Audrea to shift towards the wall. She positioned herself lengthwise on the bed with her feet facing Donny.

"You're a real pain in my ass, you know that?" Donny closed his eyes and placed both of his arms behind his head on the wall once again. Audrea rolled her eyes and nudged his ribcage with her foot, causing him to shoot his left arm down and push her away.

"I could say the same thing, Donowitz." She glared at him and he glared right back, both of them staying in that position for a few moments before Raine let out an annoyed sigh. "Shut up, both of you."

Audrea made a face at Donny as Ulmer and Utivich dragged their chairs over towards the bed she and Donny were sitting on. Raine pulled his hat down over his face and crossed his arms, attempting to get some rest before Wicki and Hugo came back.

"So, that rifle of yours," Ulmer motioned towards Audrea's rifle leaning against the wall behind him. "Mind if I check it out?"

"Please do. Just be careful not to blow Utivich's head off because it is loaded." Audrea smiled at him as he leaned back and carefully picked it up, inspecting it as Utivich leaned in to get a closer look. Audrea looked back at Donny to see he had closed his eyes once again and his bat was lying next to him. She reached forward to grab it only to have her hand slapped away by Donny who shot her a look. "Don't touch the bat without my permission."

"Why not?" She scrunched her eyebrows at him and he held it up lengthwise in his left hand. He examined it and sighed. "See all these names?"

Audrea leaned forward, scooting closer to Donny and the outstretched bat. "Yeah…what about them?"

"Those are the signatures of all the Jews from my neighborhood in Boston," His eyes narrowed as he turned the bat, Audrea staring intently at them. "When I bash a Nazi's head in, it symbolizes the wrath of a thousand Jews. I just don't want you to smudge them."

Audrea looked at him as his eyes met hers. "I won't smudge them. Besides…you're going to have to let me have a go at bashing some skulls in at some point."

Donny's eyebrow rose. "Isn't that a bit violent for a girl?"

Audrea snorted, motioning towards her rifle. "I shoot sniper bullets through Nazi heads just for fun. I like seeing them come out of their eye sockets when their head explodes forward."

Donny's eyes went wide and he chuckled, looking down at the bat. "Uh…good point then."

Audrea noticed Ulmer and Utivich were staring at her and she glanced over at them, chuckling when Ulmer slowly set the rifle back against the wall. The chuckling soon ceased when loud rounds of gunfire could be heard from downstairs in the basement. Ulmer and Utivich flew out of their seats and smashed themselves against the opposite wall as Donny flew forward, catching Audrea in his grasp and slamming them both against the wall. Donny's body landed on top of hers with a loud thud, Audrea groaning in pain when her head hit the back of the wall. She reached a hand back and rubbed the spot, bringing it forward to check for blood. "Fuckin' shit, Donowitz. Could have given me a fuckin' concussion."

"Sorry." Donny lifted his body from hers but stayed in front of her like a shield, looking back to see Raine holding his weapon out towards the stairs and grumbling to himself. "Goddammit! I told them not to get hasty an' what happens? They get into a goddam shootout!"

Ulmer and Utivich stood up first, walking over to stand next to Raine with their weapons raised. Audrea pushed Donny farther away from her as she stood up, grabbing his arm as a support. She hauled him up and then punched him in the shoulder. He glared down at her and brought a hand to the spot. "What was that for?"

"For almost sending me through the wall with that tackle, that's what." She glared back at him before standing next to Raine, staring down the stairs.

"Should we go check?" Utivich craned his neck to look farther down the stairs as Raine retreated his weapon, listening for anymore sounds of movement or gunfire. "Doesn't sound like anything's happenin' now."

"I'll go look." Audrea took a step forward towards the stairs and Raine grabbed her arm, pulling her back and cocking an eyebrow at her. "You sure you want to go down there?"

She sighed and shrugged out of his grip. "It's the least I can do on this mission."

Raine looked at her warily as she walked down the steps of the spiral staircase slowly, her neck craning around the bend. She surveyed the area and noticed all of the bodies lying around the floor seemed to be dead. She looked back up the stairs at the waiting faces of the men and sighed. "Looks like everyone's dead-"

A bullet smashed into the wall next to her head and she whipped her attention to the bar, seeing a guy standing behind it cocking a gun. She glared at him and snarled. "You fucking shit! Did you just shoot at me?!"

"Someone shot at her. I'll kill him." Donny growled and went to walk down the stairs only to be held back by the arm of Raine who shot him a look. "I got this."

He shoved his gun into Donny's arms before descending down the steps to stand next to Audrea. He nodded at her before craning his neck to look around towards the bar. Another bullet came whizzing past their heads and Raine let out a groan, pushing Audrea gently back up a few steps. He leaned against the railing and called to the man behind the bar. "What's your name sergeant?"

There was a slight pause before the shaky, urgent voice of the German soldier yelled out towards them. "I am a father! My baby was born five hours ago, and we were down here drinking, celebrating, then those other men came in shooting and killing! It's not my fault!"

Raine and Audrea shot each other glances as Raine called to him once again. "Okay, it's not your fault. What's your name?"

"Wilhelm." Raine nodded as the soldier stated his name, preparing to walk back down the stairs to talk. "Now, is there anybody alive on our side?"

"No!" Was the urgent, somewhat scared, response from Wilhelm. Not soon after, a woman's voice rang out and everyone on the Basterds' side froze. "I'm alive!"

Wilhelm screamed at her in German as everyone looked to each other, Raine cocking an eyebrow. "Who's that?"

There was silence until Wilhelm called to Raine. "A girl on your side?"

"I got one girl up here. There's one down there? Which girl?" Raine scrunched his eyebrows together in confusion. "Is she okay?"

"She's been shot, but she's alive." There was shuffling from downstairs as Wilhelm shifted his gun on the bar counter. Raine sighed and then looked back down the stairs. "Okay, Wilhelm. What do you say we make us a deal?"

"What's your name?" Raine nodded at Audrea as Wilhelm called to them, signaling they were getting somewhere. "Aldo. Okay, Wilhelm, here's my deal: I'm gonna come down there an' take the girl away. No guns on either side. I'm gonna take the girl an' leave, the civil way. You go your way, I go mine. What do you say, Wilhelm?"

There was a long pause as the Basterds waited, Wilhelm speaking up once again. "Aldo?"

"I'm here." Raine answered him.

"I want to trust you, but how can I?" Wilhelm's voice was shaking now and Raine was getting impatient. "What choice do you have, Wilhelm?"

There was a pause before Wilhelm spoke again. "Okay…Aldo…I'm going to trust you. Come down."

Raine looked at Audrea and his men before slowly walking down the stairs, peeking around the corner to see Wilhelm still holding the gun towards him. He smashed himself back against the railing and sighed. "I thought we had a deal Wilhelm? This ain't a Mexican standoff. I don't want no Mexican standoff."

Raine peeked his head back around and looked at Wilhelm. "We only got us a deal if we trust each other. You shoot us, we're dead. They got grenades up here. They throw one down you're dead. That's a Mexican standoff an' that's not trust. No trust, no deal!"

Raine waved his finger at Wilhelm before retreating behind the spiral staircase again. There was some mumbling between the woman and Wilhelm as Raine peeked around the corner again just as Wilhelm nodded at her, dropping his gun on the bar counter and walking over to her. "Alright…just take the girl and get her out of my sight."

There was a silence before gunshots rang out again, this time coming from the gun the woman was holding. Everyone froze and looked at each other, Raine sighing at the sight. "Jesus, Bridget. Did you have to shoot 'im?"

Raine walked the rest of the way down the stairs towards Bridget, the other Basterds following suit. Donny handed Audrea her rifle which she graciously took, walking around the perimeter of the bar where bodies were strewn. Bridget shrugged at Raine, writhing in pain. "I don't have time for this."

Raine walked over to her and crouched down, examining her leg where blood was pooling. He scrunched his eyebrows together when he noticed the gunshot wound in her thigh. He pointed at it and raised an eyebrow. "That's goin' to need a doctor."

"You think I don't know that?" Her accent was strong as she hissed at him, writhing in pain once again. Raine motioned for Ulmer and Utivich to help her up and then stood, looking around the bar. Audrea came across the bodies of Wicki and Hugo, cringing at their dead, wide-open eyes. She bent down and placed her hands over Hugo's eyes, pulling his eyelids shut and then doing the same to Wicki. She noticed the pistol on Hugo's exposed belt and picked it up, examining it. "Jesus, guys…I told you not to die."

She stared at them both for a moment before standing up, following behind the rest of the group as they carried Bridget out of the bar and to a doctor. She noticed Donny looking at her and gave him a sad look, shrugging her shoulders as she ran her thumb over the pistol in her hand.

* * *

><p>Utivich and Ulmer dragged Bridget into the basement of a doctor's office and helped her up onto a steel table. The doctor came rushing over in a panic, his eyes wide at the men. "What happened?!"<p>

"Bullet to the leg. Mind gettin' it out for her, doc?" Ulmer unlatched Bridget's arm from his shoulders and cocked an eyebrow at the doctor. He nodded nervously and then shuffled over to one of the desks in the corner, retrieving some syringes and other tools as Bridget lied back and writhed in pain. Ulmer moved to the corner of the room by the desk and sat in the chair as Utivich took a standing position at the opposite corner, watching as the doctor began to stick syringes into Bridget's thigh. She bit her knuckles, holding back a yelp of pain as he stuck her.

"Not so goddam fast, doc. We gotta talk to 'er first." Raine came bounding into the room and shooed the doctor away from the steel table Bridget was lying on. The doctor hurried over to where Utivich was standing and sat down on a stool as Audrea and Donny came walking in. Donny walked over to stand next to the table on Bridget's right side as Audrea stood on her left, both of them narrowing their eyes at her.

Raine roughly pushed the rolling table that held the medical supplies towards the wall, knocking it to the ground with a clang and spilling the supplies all over the floor. He then kicked the chair the doctor was previously sitting on and hit the wall with it. "Now…before we yank that slug outta you, you need to answer a few questions."

He leaned a hand on the end of the steel table, cocking an eyebrow at Bridget as she eyed Donny and Audrea who were looking at her in close proximity. "About what?"

"About the fact that I got two men dead back there, so if you don't mind tellin' us…what the _fuck_ happened?" Raine placed a hand on his hip and eyed Bridget expectantly. Donny placed a pistol to her right thigh as Audrea poked her in the shoulder with her own pistol.

"I can see since you didn't see what happened inside…the Nazi's being there must look odd." She answered him dully, shifting her thigh and shoulder away from the guns.

"Yeah, we got a word for that kinda odd in English. It's called suspicious." Raine shot her a look and then stood straight, reaching a hand out and sticking his pointer finger into the gunshot wound. Bridget gasped and then yelped, her body shifting towards Audrea as she clung to the side of the table.

"They…were there celebrating. You remember Wilhelm, right?" Raine nodded at her and she continued through labored breaths. "He had just become a father. It was… a trap."

Bridget glared up at Raine as her hands gripped at the side of the table. Raine stared down at her for a few moments before retracting his finger, a relieved gasp escaping Bridget as she gingerly sat up. Raine shook the blood off of his finger as Audrea's and Donny's guns went back to Bridget's shoulder and thigh. "How'd the shootin' start?"

Bridget paused a moment and looked up at him, raising three fingers: her pointer, middle, and thumb. "He ordered three glasses…the German three. The wrong German three. They noticed it."

Raine listened as he pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket, cleaning the remaining blood from his finger. "Let's pretend there were no Germans. What was the next step of the plan?"

Bridget sat straighter and looked him dead in the eye. "To get them to the premiere. We would have gone as members of the German film industry. They would wear tuxedos and fit in with everybody else. I had them arranged to be fitted tonight."

Raine looked down at the floor and then turned around to look at Bridget. "How'd you expect to get 'em in that theater?"

Bridget groaned as she sat up completely straight, motioning for Audrea to grab the bag sitting on the table behind her. Donny stood straight as he watched Audrea grab the bag and set it on Bridget's lap. Bridget opened the bag and held it out towards Raine who took it from her and peered inside, seeing three tickets. "They were going as my escorts. A German cameraman and his assistants."

"Can you still get us in that pre-miere?" Raine pulled out the tickets and then threw the bag to the side, examining them as Bridget watched him. "Do you speak anything other than German? Have I been shot? Yes! I don't see myself in a rendezvous on the red carpet anytime soon."

Bridget scoffed, sitting back on her elbows. "However…there is something you need to know first. There have been two recent developments regarding Operation Kino. One: the venue has been changed from the Ritz to a much smaller venue."

Raine looked back at her. "Enormous changes at the last minute? That's not very "Germatic." Why the hell is Goebbels doing stuff so damn peculiar?"

Bridget shrugged. "It probably has something to do with the second development."

Raine raised both of his eyebrows and motioned his hand for her to continue. "Which is?"

Bridget sat up straight and locked eyes with him. "The Führer is attending the premiere."

"Fuck. A. Duck!" Donny slammed his fist down on the steel table in triumph, Audrea shooting her eyes over to Raine in anticipation of the circumstances getting better.

"This means you're gettin' us in that pre-miere." Raine dug a can of tobacco out of his pants pocket and pointed at Bridget who shot him a look of disbelief. She scoffed and sat back on her left elbow. "I am probably going to end up losing this leg. Bye-bye acting career…how do you expect me to walk the red carpet?!"

Raine sniffed before turning back to her, motioning towards the doctor sitting in front of Utivich. "The doc here's gonna dig that slug outta your can…then he's gonna wrap you up in a cast. Then you got yourself a good…mountain climbin' story. That's German, ain't it? Ya'll like climbin' mountains, don't you?"

Bridget rolled her eyes. "I don't. I like smoking, drinking, and ordering in restaurants…but I see your point."

Raine sniffed again and grinned at her. "We'll hop you up on morphine 'til it's comin' out your ears, and you just drag your ass along that rouge car-pet."

Raine snapped his can of tobacco shut and grinned as Bridget leaned back and looked at everyone. "I know this is a silly question before I ask it, but…can you Americans speak any other language besides English?"

Raine motioned over towards Audrea with his pointer finger. "She ain't American, but she can speak a different language other than German."

Audrea eyed him and then looked back at Bridget. "Just Polish and French."

Bridget nodded at her and then looked at the wall in front of her. "That won't work."

"What about Italian?" Raine cocked an eyebrow at Bridget who shot him a look of disgust. "That atrocious language. Although…the Germans don't really have an ear for it, so it may work," She sat up again and eyed Raine. "So, you want us to braise through this in Italian, is that it? That's the plan?"

Raine nodded. "That's pretty much it."

"It sounds like shit," Bridget looked down at the steel table and then up at Raine. "But it will work as long as you don't blow it. Who's doing what?"

Raine stood straight and sighed, thinking it over. "Well…I speak the most Italian so I'll be your escort. Donowitz speaks the second most so he'll be your Italian cameraman. Omar speaks third most so he'll be Donny's assistant."

"I don't speak Italian." Ulmer cocked an eyebrow at Raine who just shook his head. "Like I said…third best. Just keep your fuckin' mouth shut. In fact…why don't you start practicin' right now."

Ulmer shot him a look and then remained silent as Raine looked over at Audrea last. "You'll just be Donny's mute lady escort since you don't speak no Italian either."

Audrea cocked an eyebrow at him. "Mute?"

Raine nodded. "Yeah…because your accent is the weirdest of all of us an' if you talk you could give us away. Just keep your mouth shut like Ulmer an' we'll get through this without a hitch."

Audrea felt a little offended by that, but nodded, looking at Donny who was smirking at her. "Okay."

Raine clapped his hands together and walked forward to look at everyone. "Great! Everythin' is set for tomorrow night."

"Yes…but you cannot stay the night here. I had heard some of the soldiers mention Hans Landa was around and if he catches you…it could be over for you all." Bridget eyed Raine who looked at her and cocked an eyebrow. "Really?"

Bridget nodded solemnly as Raine shrugged and nodded at the rest of his group.

"Fine. I guess one more night campin' in the woods won't kill us."

* * *

><p>Audrea sat in the bed of an abandoned truck while the men stood in one of the tuxedo shops having their tuxes altered for the premiere the next night; the night they planned to finally kill Hitler and end the war. Audrea leaned her head back on the wall of the truck, shrugging her jacket from her shoulders and setting it down next to her guns. She glanced down at each one of them, running her hand over the newest: Hugo's pistol. Her face scrunched into one of disgust as she thought back to seeing them both lying dead on the floor of the tavern basement. The stench of dying and decaying bodies was abundant even a few moments after everyone was shot. <em>I've lost so many people in this God forsaken war… I'm tired of having to suffer because one person didn't like another… Pointless…Selfish…<em>

She heard noises coming from outside and her hand immediately went to the knife on her thigh; another habit she realized she had picked up through all of the fighting and defending. Her eyes scanned the opening of the truck as Donny's face came into view, his eyes going wide when he saw her sitting in the middle of the truck bed. "There you are. Thought you abandoned us."

He grabbed onto the edge of the truck and hauled himself inside, sitting down across from Audrea as she shook her head at him. "I could never do that now. I'm in too far with you guys now so I have to finish this mission until we either succeed or I drop dead."

Donny shot her a look when she said that and shifted in his seated position, bending his left leg and placing an arm over it. "Do you think you're ready to die? I mean…have you ever thought about that when you began fighting against the Nazi's?"

"In the chance that I actually get shot and die in the circumstance something goes wrong?" Donny nodded at her question and she bit her lip, thinking it over. "In a sense…I think so. I wouldn't have gotten into the fighting aspect if I wasn't at least a little prepared to die…even if I haven't confirmed it."

She chuckled softly, still unsure herself. "I am one of the only females actually going out and killing people in this war. In that sense I have to be prepared to die. Do I want to? No. I want to get out of this thing in one piece and maybe settle down somewhere and keep to myself. I'm not quite sure yet..."

Donny listened to her and nodded. "Where do you think you'll go back to? Poland? Back to the States?"

Audrea shrugged, crossing her arms over her stomach. "Like I said…I'm not sure. Maybe the States…just to live somewhere different. For more than a few months, for sure, since I was only there briefly when I fled Germany."

"I could always show you Boston if you decide to go back there- if you want to, I mean." Donny caught himself before he implied something Audrea didn't want, but to his surprise she smiled at him. "I think that would be amazing."

He felt the corners of his lips turn up into a sincere smile as they looked at each other, her gaze moving downward to her arms after a few moments. He brought his gaze downward and studied the wrapping on her arms. "I've been meaning to ask," Audrea looked up at him and cocked an eyebrow. "What's with the wrappings?"

Audrea looked down at her arms and then laughed, holding them up and studying them. "Oh…these? I found out through my stint as a sniper that if I wrap my left arm- the arm that steadies the rifle –and my right wrist- the wrist that pulls the trigger –I can steady my aim a lot better and get a better shot. It looks weird, but it's highly effective."

Donny reached a hand towards her and grabbed her left wrist, feeling the wrapping going up her forearm. "Medical tape?"

"A mix of medical tape and regular wrapping." She showed him a section of her right wrist where the material was different and he nodded, releasing her left arm. "I see."

A silence hung in the air before Donny spoke again, his tone serious. "Can you tell me about how you went undercover in your Hitler assassination attempt?"

Audrea's eyes met his as she thought a moment, closing her eyes slowly and leaning her head back against the truck wall. "Well…when I was living in France I had a lot of time to think about what had happened back in Poland; when the Nazi's killed my parents and my sister. I was full of so much hate that I didn't care or think about anyone else but myself and the thought of just getting back to Germany somehow to kill Hitler. I began drawing out my plans to somehow get near Hitler...and what better way was there than to be a part of his personal regime?"

She paused a moment as she opened her eyes and gazed down at her jacket on the floor. "I studied German and learned it quite quickly, and I practiced covering up my Polish accent and acting and sounding as German as I possibly could…it was sort of like how Hugo and Wicki went undercover as German soldiers, except this task was a lot trickier. I made up a story about how I was a poor nurse looking for a job and they took me in after I made up this long and elaborate story that honestly made no sense at the time…even I wasn't convinced, but they bought it. Every day I would treat any of the Nazi's that came in, and every day I would observe and plan out the best ways to get to Hitler. I knew the headquarters he was cooped up in like the back of my hand, but too bad for me when one of the nurse's picked up on the awkwardness of my accent…the one day I had slipped up. She threatened to give me away so I…stabbed her and ran. I travelled to America and waited it out in New York before making my way back to Germany to try again when I was sure they had forgotten about me," She paused. "They hadn't…so I just took my time again, living in trees and sniping Nazi's on the ground, earning my nickname."

Audrea shrugged and then looked back at Donny. "And so here we are."

Donny nodded slowly at her as he stared at the ground, taking everything in. He suddenly looked up at her and grinned. "Can you say something in Polish? I've never really heard it before."

Audrea nodded, gazing her eyes upward and biting her lip as she thought of a sentence. "Opatrzone Żyd jest przystojny (the Bear Jew is handsome)."

Donny stared at her as she hoped he had no idea what any of the words meant. He didn't seem to pick it up as he grinned. "Another?"

"Myślę, że jestem zakochany w niedźwiedzia Żyda (I think I'm in love with the Bear Jew)." She stared straight into his eyes as she said it, biting the inside of her cheek as she realized she actually said it out loud; though not in a language Donny could understand. Donny continued to grin at her, liking the way the language sounded in her voice. "What did you say?"

Audrea froze and scrambled to find a lie. "Uh…I like working with the Basterds, and I'm the best sniper around." _Wow…that's convincing…_

Donny nodded at her, accepting the lie to Audrea's relief, and scrunched his eyebrows. "It sounds…" He paused a moment before continuing. "Beautiful."

Audrea stared at him, swallowing hard as her heart fluttered in her chest. In the heat of a war and another suicide-type mission not too long in the distance, staring into his eyes was something peaceful…calming. Audrea had never felt that way with someone before. She always seemed standoffish and pushed people away from her, not wanting to get attached. But Donny was different. She felt herself wanting to get attached to him; to have him…to just hold him and keep him close. The new feelings scared her, but intrigued her nonetheless.

Voices sounded in the alley by the truck and Audrea's eyes tore away from Donny's to look out, seeing Raine, Ulmer, and Utivich standing around and searching the perimeter. "Donowitz! Falco! Let's go!"

Raine's voice rang out and Donny and Audrea glanced at each other before moving to get out of the truck. Audrea grabbed her guns, latching the bigger ones onto their holdings and the pistol in the back of her shorts, as she scooped up her jacket in her hand and then slid it on. She moved forward only to be stopped suddenly by Donny who grabbed her arm. He reached out and grabbed the side of her chin, leaning in and placing his lips on hers. It was brief, but Audrea could feel some sort of emotion in it; it wasn't urgent or aggressive like the one they had shared before. She watched him as he locked eyes with her before jumping out of the truck, helping her out of the truck by the waist. He set her down and they walked over to Raine who widened his eyes in surprise at seeing them. "Where were you?"

"Sitting in the back of that truck waiting for you to finish." Donny answered him and Raine nodded, signaling for the group to move out and find a spot to camp for the night.

* * *

><p>The walk to the clearing was short. It was a secluded area just outside of the town where the premiere was being held and the Basterds could get into position quickly when morning came. As everyone began to unpack what they needed for the night, Raine cleared his throat and called everyone to attention. "Utivich and Ulmer…would you take watch tonight?"<p>

Raine looked at them expectantly as Audrea cleared her throat, Raine shifting his gaze to her. "I'll take watch. I'm better for it since I can watch from higher up."

Raine crossed his arms and cocked an eyebrow at her. "You've taken watch the past three nights. Don't you want a night off?"

Audrea shrugged. "I have no problem doing it. It's peaceful out there."

Raine stared at her for a moment before nodding his head, shifting his gaze to Donny. "You go with her. There are going to be more Naht-zi's around since we're so close to the city an' you're bigger than the rest of us so you can take 'em if somethin' goes wrong."

Donny nodded at him as Audrea grabbed her rifle from its location next to her pack. She shrugged off her jacket again and laid it down next to her pack, walking back over to where Donny was waiting for her. She nodded at him and then walked ahead of him into the woods, searching for a sturdy tree that would give her the best vantage point like she always did on watch. She found one quickly and began her descent upwards. She felt an arm grab her around the waist and pull her back down, her eyes narrowing as Donny shot her a serious look. "Be careful. Like Raine said…there are Nazi's all over the place."

She sighed at him and pushed out of his grip. "I can take care of myself…I am up high afterall," She paused and looked behind Donny into the rows of trees. "You should patrol from the ground over on that side. We can cover more ground that way…and don't worry. I'll keep an eye out for you."

She smirked at him as he nodded, leaning down to push his lips to hers. Just like earlier, Audrea felt the same emotion fill the kiss. He pulled away and then turned his back, walking out of sight into the trees. Audrea sighed and then turned towards the tree, beginning her descent upwards once again. She settled herself against the trunk and placed the rifle in her lap, staring off into the distance where various lights could be seen still illuminating the town. Thinking back to what had just happened made Audrea a little uneasy. She wasn't sure what everything meant yet; what type of relationship this was in either the normal or romantic way. What would happen after the war? Donny would no doubt go back to Boston, but what about her? Back to Poland? Back to America? Possibly to Boston? What if one of them didn't make it out alive…what then?

Audrea sighed, roughly running a hand down her face in frustration. So many questions and Donny himself were distracting her. She hadn't been able to think straight for a week and was beginning to lose her fighting edge. She always thought of herself as an independent; having to live on her own for so long of course, but also as a mentality. She wanted to be thought of as a strong female; someone who didn't necessarily need a man to get through life just fine. Then she thought about it. Maybe that was just being selfish in itself…not allowing people to get near her because she was so stubborn. She needed love…she _wanted _it…and Donny seemed like he was attempting to give it to her, but she was always turning a blind eye to that fact. Maybe it was time for a change.

Audrea's thoughts were cut short when something made a noise on the ground. The sudden shock made Audrea jump and she cursed herself when her rifle fell out of her lap, landing on the ground with a loud clang. She froze, waiting for whatever was moving around to make a move.

"Ein gewehr! In den bäumen! (A rifle! In the trees!)" Audrea heard someone shout in German and her body shook, realizing she was out of a reliable weapon with only her pistol and knife now useable. Gunshots rang out and Audrea shot up, hearing bullets whiz past her head. _They're blindly shooting into the trees!_

Audrea moved around the trunk towards the other side to use it as cover, but not before feeling a bullet strike her in the left shoulder. She stopped herself from screaming out in pain and revealing her location by biting her tongue, shooting a hand out to cover the wound. She groaned as her breathing labored, leaning against the other side of tree as cover. She felt around the wound and realized the bullet had just grazed her shoulder, but it was enough to leave a very deep gash and it bled profusely. She huffed as she reached behind her for the pistol in her shorts, pulling it out and holding it to her chest. She waited as gunshots continued to whizz around the trees as Germans could be heard shouting on the ground.

_I don't think I'm ready to die…not like this…not by them…_

Audrea bit her lip in pain as the wound on her shoulder continued to bleed, her wrappings soaked in crimson red. She closed her eyes and listened, a few more shots hitting the trunk she was leaning against. She just prayed Donny was smart enough to stay where he was and not coming running into the gunfire.

A few moments later the gunfire ceased, leaving the forest in silence until the Germans once again began yelling to each other. Audrea stayed frozen in her position for a while longer; enough time for the Germans to conclude she was dead and move out. When she believed they had had enough time to move out she moved, hissing as her shoulder throbbed. She attempted to climb down the tree and got down to the third branch before a shot of pain hit her again and she flinched, her hands slipping and sending her to the ground. She landed hard on her side, grimacing as her right shoulder received most of the impact.

"Audrea!" Donny screamed out, his voice in a panic as he saw Audrea fall to the ground. He threw his bat to the side and ran towards her, sliding to his knees behind her as she attempted to turn onto her back. She cracked her eyes open to look up at him, his face a bit out of focus. "Donny…"

"Don't talk! Shit…" He looked down at the wound on her shoulder, biting his lip unsure of what to do. Audrea groaned as she placed a hand to her left shoulder again, the blood dripping through her fingers and onto the forest floor.

"We have to get you back to camp." Donny cursed himself as he gingerly placed his arms under Audrea's body, standing up and holding her bridal style. He made his way back to camp as quickly as he could without hurting her more. His mind was in a panic as everything seemed to be going by in slow motion.

"Lieutenant!" Donny came into view as everyone's gazes whipped in his direction, everyone standing immediately and running over to him when they saw Audrea draped in his arms.

"Fuckin' Christ! What the hell happened?!" Raine's eyes went wide in concern as Donny bent down onto his knees on the ground, positioning Audrea's head in his lap as everyone else fell to the ground with him. Donny's eyes searched Audrea's face as her eyes opened and closed. "I think the Germans shot her. I heard a large amount of gunfire in her direction and when I got there she was on the ground."

"Shit…" Raine looked down at her, removing her hand from her shoulder and examining the deep gash. "Ulmer, get the medical kit an' stitch this up!"

Ulmer nodded, running towards the packs sitting in a row by the fire. Raine looked back at Audrea in time to see her open her eyes. She looked up at Donny and reached a hand out to rest on his cheek. Donny stared at her as she winced in pain and then passed out, her hand falling limply back to her side.


	4. Preparation

Audrea's eyes slowly cracked open, wincing shut when the bright sunlight reached them. She groaned and attempted to sit up, hissing as pain shot through her left arm. She closed her eyes and steadied her breathing, hearing someone rustling around next to her.

"Oh…you're finally awake." Ulmer smiled at Audrea when she looked at him. She shifted as she leaned on her arms, looking around at the forest that surrounded them. "What happened?"

Ulmer cocked an eyebrow at her. "You don't remember?"

"I remember getting shot in the shoulder by some Germans…that's about it." She looked over at Ulmer and shrugged her shoulders. He nodded at her and sighed. "Well…when Donny brought you back to camp you were beat up pretty bad and bleeding everywhere. I stitched up your shoulder and you were out the rest of the night."

Audrea stared ahead of her and nodded, taking all of the information in. She moved her hand up to rub her face when she felt something over her body. She looked at the sleeve that covered her arm and cocked an eyebrow, looking down at the jacket covering her frame. "What am I wearing?"

Ulmer chuckled and pointed at the jacket with a smirk. "That's Donny's jacket. Poor guy's been a complete wreck ever since you got hurt and he hasn't left your side since Raine forced him to take a walk this morning," Ulmer nodded to himself and went back to organizing his medical pack. "You should thank him. I think he went to find his bat that he left in the woods last night, so you'll find him around there."

"Thanks, Ulmer…and stop smirking. You're really freaking me out." Audrea made a face at him as she placed a hand to the stitches on her shoulder. Ulmer laughed and rustled around in his medical pack. "I can't help it. You guys are…cute together?"

Audrea rolled her eyes as Ulmer thought over what he said, pulling out a syringe from his pack. He flicked the tube as he held it up. "That reminds me," He motioned toward the hand Audrea was holding to her shoulder. "You're due up for a morphine shot since the last one's about to wear off."

Audrea sighed and nodded as he walked over to her, leaning down and gingerly placing a hand on her bicep. He smiled at her as he held the syringe in a ready position by her shoulder. "Now…don't punch me in the face when I poke this needle in your arm."

Audrea shot Ulmer an annoyed look. "Just poke me with the damn thing so I can go look for Donowitz."

"Pushy, pushy…" Ulmer mocked her and then shoved the needle into her shoulder making her let out a yelp as he laughed.

* * *

><p>Twigs and leaves could be heard crunching under Audrea's boots as she walked through the woods in search of Donny. His jacket was clutched tightly in her arms as her eyes scanned the vast area full of lush trees. She sighed as she looked down at the ground, whipping her gaze back up when she heard something crack. She walked towards the sound and came across Donny hitting rocks with his bat and mumbling to himself in a small clearing.<p>

"I can't believe I let her get hurt…" Donny's face scrunched in anger as he picked up another rock and threw it in the air, smacking it with his bat and watching it ricochet off of a tree. The sound of crunching leaves made Donny turn around in surprise, his eyes going wide when he saw Audrea slowly making her way towards him. "Audrea?"

She smiled at him and stopped in front of him, gazing up at him as he looked down at her in slight confusion and dropped his bat. "You're using my actual name. Means you might actually like me."

She chuckled to herself as he remained silent. He reached a hand back and rubbed his neck, looking anywhere but her face as he gave a sheepish smile. "Yeah…" He lifted his eyes to meet hers and smirked. "You used my name last night before you completely blacked out. Does that mean you don't actually hate me and we can be on a first name basis?"

Audrea thought for a moment and then shrugged. "I don't know…I kind of like saying Donowitz. Makes me feel like I can boss your ass around."

Donny cocked an eyebrow. "The same could be said for me, Falco."

Audrea rolled her eyes as Donny smirked, liking the way he could always get under her skin. His light mood was short-lived however when his eyes met the jacket draped over her arms. "You know…I'm sorry I let that happen to you last night."

Audrea followed Donny's gaze and looked down at the jacket in her arms, shaking her head and reaching a hand out to cup the side of his jaw. "It wasn't your fault. How were we supposed to know that those bastards would shoot blindly into the trees?" She chuckled as his eyes met hers. "Plus…this is the first time I've ever been hit and it's kind of…exciting. Means I'm human after all."

Donny searched her face as she continued to smile at him She removed her hand from his jaw and held the jacket out towards him. "I thought you would want this back."

He looked down at the jacket and shook his head, grabbing it and then draping it over her shoulders. "No, you keep it. As long as you have it you'll be reminded of me."

She cocked an eyebrow at him and grinned. "Are you trying to say that you want me to think about you all the time or possibly just visit you?"

He smirked at her. "Something like that."

"You're such a cocky ass, you know that?" She punched him in the arm and he glared at her, rubbing the spot. "And you're an abuser…so that's worse."

"Abuser my ass…" Audrea mumbled to herself as she rolled her eyes, feeling Donny's arms snake around her waist and pull her into his body. He brought his hand to her face as their eyes met. "There's been something I've wanted to tell you…and after thinking about it last night and after what happened to you…I think it's only right to tell you now."

Audrea nodded at him, reaching a hand up to straighten out the front of his wife beater. "You can tell me anything."

"I love you." Donny didn't miss a beat as he stared at her. Audrea's hand ceased in its actions and her heart rate increased dramatically. She didn't know if she heard him right, or if it was just some sick figment of her imagination that would make him say that because she wanted it so badly. Donny began to slightly panic when Audrea remained silent for more than a few moments. "Audrea…did you hear me? I said I love you."

_It wasn't my imagination._ Audrea's eyes shot up to lock with his and her mouth fell open slightly, screaming at herself to say something back to him. "I…"

Audrea mentally slapped herself and snapped her mouth shut, chuckling and then grinning up at Donny. "I love you, too…"

Donny felt relief wash over him as he pulled Audrea even closer to him in a tight embrace, her arms wrapping around his back. "You have no idea how happy I am to hear you say that."

They pulled apart slightly to look at each other, Donny reaching his hands up to hold Audrea's face. She gave him a genuine smile as he leaned in towards her and placed his lips to hers.

This time Audrea knew what emotion was apparent in the kiss.

* * *

><p>"This ain't gonna work. I don't look like no god damned eye-talian!"<p>

Raine's face scrunched into a look of disgust as he inspected his appearance in the mirror. He spun once and groaned, running a hand through his dirty-blonde hair. "I ain't got no eye-talian man's hair-"

"You will be fine, I assure you." Bridget moved into the main room of the house the Basterds and she were using to dress for the premiere, searching through a small pocketbook she held. Raine looked back at her and grumbled, adjusting his suit jacket. "You had better be right…"

The door to the right of Raine slowly opened and Audrea stepped into the room. Bridget and Raine looked at Audrea as her eyes cast downward, smoothing out the long gown she was wearing. She bit her lip and then cast her gaze towards a smiling Bridget and a smirking Raine. "I haven't worn a dress since I was a little girl, let alone one this expensive and fancy."

Bridget let out an excited squeak and placed her pocketbook on a side table, moving swiftly over towards Audrea and ushering her quickly to the front of the mirror. She shooed Raine away from the mirror and then stood Audrea in front of it, beaming widely from her position behind the female soldier. "My dear you look absolutely stunning!"

Audrea felt a slight blush form on her cheeks and looked down towards the floor only to have her chin lifted by Bridget. Audrea's eyes met her reflection in the mirror and, had she not known it was herself, would have never recognized the woman standing in front of her. Her face now donned perfectly applied makeup and her hair fell full to one side in her signature loose ringlets, only this time they looked a lot more shiny and glamorous; an upgrade from the dust-covered ringlets she donned out on the battlefield.

Her eyes cast downward to the dress that covered her body, taking in the full length. The gunmetal-colored strapless dress hugged her curves all the way down to the slit that hit at her left hip and exposed her left leg. The right side of the dress hit the floor just enough to pool slightly at her feet. Her strappy red heels were a signature for Bridget and she had insisted Audrea wear a pair.

"Well, shit. You do clean up quite nicely." Raine shot Audrea a grin as she rolled her eyes in return, smiling.

"I've got one last touch up to do to my makeup before we head over to the theater, so give me just a moment," Bridget shook her head back and forth and scrunched her eyebrows together as she moved quickly into the bathroom. "And where the hell are the other two?"

Raine and Audrea shrugged at each other as Audrea lifted her left leg onto a small table in the middle of the room. She grabbed her knife carrier from the dresser behind her and began strapping it to her thigh, ceasing her actions when she heard Raine clear his throat. She looked up at him as his eyebrow rose and he pointed at the carrier. "Don't you think they'd see that hangin' off yer' leg?"

Audrea paused for a moment before lifting the right side of her dress up, being careful not to lift it up too far, and exposing the pistol harness strapped to her right thigh. "Right leg's been taken."

"You think tonight will need that sort of endin'?" Raine looked at Audrea expectantly as she shrugged, continuing to strap the knife carrier to her left thigh. "I'm always prepared for any kind of situation, sir."

Audrea had just snapped the carrier into place when the bedroom door opposite of Raine opened and Ulmer and Donny stepped out, adjusting the ties on their freshly pressed suits. Donny's eyes wandered over to Audrea just in time to see her smooth out the left side of her dress and remove her leg from the table, standing straight and adjusting the dress once more.

"Wow…" Donny was breathless as he looked over Audrea, her eyes darting up to see him staring at her. Ulmer heard the mumble come from Donny and he looked over, his jaw going slightly slack and his eyes wide at the sight of Audrea completely made-over.

Audrea swallowed hard and then crossed her arms over her chest, feeling a bit uncomfortable over the long stares. "Are you both quite done?"

Both of the men coughed awkwardly as they averted their eyes, Raine letting out a light chuckle at the situation. Bridget walked out of the bathroom not soon after the awkward incident and sighed, looking around at everyone stationed around the room. "Well…shall we?"


	5. Triumph and Desperation

"Remember…you are my Italian stuntman and his assisting cameramen. Keep calm and confident. And most importantly…don't screw this up."

Bridget's eyes scanned over all four of the Basterds as they stood behind her in front of the doors to the theater. Audrea looked at Raine as he rolled his eyes, walking forward to take Bridget's arm. "Don't go an' worry yourself, darlin'. We won't give ourselves away that easy-"

"You already screwed up. Where is your Italian accent?" Bridget shot Raine an accusing look and he froze, casting his gaze up to the night sky. "Aw, shit…"

Bridget sighed and then brought her free hand up to smooth out the front of Raine's suit. "It's alright. Just one screw up won't throw the entire mission. Let's just get inside."

With that Bridget led Raine into the theater leaving Ulmer, Donny, and Audrea to follow behind. Ulmer looked at both of them as he walked forward, motioning towards the door. "Well, shall we?"

Donny and Audrea both nodded at him. Donny held his arm out to Audrea and she took it, allowing him to lead her into the theater. Going into the crowded theater, no one was quite expecting what they saw. Important war heroes, critical leaders, and Gestapo Officers were all in a rendezvous with each other on the floor and twin staircases. They couldn't help but think that if there was a time and place to take out most of Germany's forces, it would be now. All of these critical men would perish and Germany itself would collapse.

Bridget and Raine led the four to a spot off to the side of the main floor where Bridget could say hello to passing fans in the German military. The four of them stayed quiet, smiling when they were mentioned in conversation or pointed out.

"All these goddam people, all in one place. Fucking shit…" Donny gazed in awe at all of the men in the theater, his mouth turning upwards into a wicked smirk. Audrea felt his free hand grab hers that was positioned on his arm, giving it a tight squeeze. She smiled at him as she placed her other hand on his bicep, keeping her gaze trained on some of the more familiar faces in the crowd.

"We are doing good so far. It doesn't seem like any of them can see through your disguises." Bridget turned around to face all of the Basterds when her line of fans had died down. She looked down at the champagne glass in her hand and then looked between all of them after a moment. "All we have to do now is find out where the Führer is sitting. Then…we can take care of him."

"Easier said than done. If everythin' goes to shit we can just wait for the timers on the bombs to blow the place up." Raine looked at Ulmer and Donny, referencing the bombs that were strapped to their calves that would detonate in the instance when assassinating Hitler didn't go as planned. This plan, however, was not one that Audrea was looking forward to at all. Seeing all of them get blown up as a last resort was not something she wanted to even think about. This is why she wanted everything to go off without a hitch. In the end they could all just go on with their lives, without a war and without losing anyone else.

Audrea frowned at the thought of the bombs and saw Bridget doing the same, a sigh escaping her lips. "I would really hope that in the end you will not have to use those."

Her gaze met Raine's as he looked at her. He shrugged and pursed his lips. "Anythin' to kill Hitler."

Bridget nodded slowly and then raised a finger to point at Raine. "I agree with you in that sense, but please…don't do anything too reckless-"

"Fräulein von Hammersmark." A voice speaking in German cut off Bridget before she could warn Raine and she turned around, everyone's gazes coming to rest on Hans Landa himself as he walked towards them. Audrea's grip tightened on Donny's arm and he gave her hand a reassuring pat, his face staying neutral.

Bridget turned her body completely to face Landa and gave him a bright smile, opening her arms. "Colonel Landa, it has been years. Dashing as ever, I see."

Landa grinned at her as he walked forward, taking her hand and then leaning in to kiss both cheeks in greeting. His gaze cast downward to Bridget's cast and he cocked an eyebrow. "So, what's happened to your lovely leg?" He brought his gaze back up to Bridget and smirked. "A by-product of kicking ass in the German cinema, no doubt."

Bridget chuckled politely and then slapped Landa lightly on the arm. "Save your flattery, you old dog. I know too many of your former conquests to fall into that honey pot."

Landa laughed at Bridget's remark and then took on a more serious tone, bringing his eyes back to the cast. "Seriously, what happened?"

Bridget paused and everyone looked at her. She opened and closed her mouth a few times before looking down at her cast-clad leg. "Well…I tried my hand, foolishly might I add, at mountain climbing."

Bridget laughed lightly and shook her head, motioning a hand towards her foot. "And this is the result."

"Mountain climbing?" Landa looked at her in surprise as she nodded in response, still laughing lightly. "That's how you injured your leg- mountain climbing?"

Bridget nodded again and shrugged. "Believe it or not yes."

At this point Landa let out a loud series of laughs that startled all of them. They stared at him as he turned to walk away towards another group in conversation, their eyes landing on him in questioning. Audrea stared at Landa in confusion as Donny looked over at Raine, his voice in a whisper. "What. The. Fuck?"

Raine shrugged subtly at Donny before returning his gaze to Landa who was still laughing loudly. Bridget looked around awkwardly as various pairs of eyes in the room landed on a laughing Landa. After a few more moments of Landa laughing, he waved off the same group of people and then stood straight, coughing a bit to regain his composure and wiping a tear from his eye before returning to stand in front of Bridget and the Basterds. "Forgive me, fräulein. I don't mean to laugh at your misfortune, it's just…mountain climbing?"

Landa continued his conversation about Bridget's "mishap" as Audrea brought her gaze back to the people around the room. She noticed most of them had now begun to file into the theater to find their seats, leaving the room a lot quieter than it had been when they first walked in. She brought her gaze back to Raine to see that he was awkwardly looking around. She realized that he didn't know what they were saying because he didn't speak German and she giggled to herself, causing Donny to look down at her with a raised eyebrow. Audrea opened her mouth to answer his confused gesture when she saw Landa turn towards them and motion a hand. "So, who are your three handsome escorts?"

Bridget looked relieved to be done with Landa's questioning about her cast when she looked at all of them. She walked over towards Raine and placed a hand on his arm. "I'm afraid neither of the three speak a word of German. They're friends of mine from Italy. This is the wonderful Italian stuntman, Enzo Gorlomi."

Raine nodded at Landa as he smiled, Bridget continuing to Donny and Audrea. "A very talented cameraman, Antonio Margheriti, and his date."

Bridget motioned towards them as Donny and Audrea nodded at Landa. He smiled and walked forward, reaching a hand out and taking Audrea's in his own. He brought it towards his mouth to leave a kiss on the back of it as Donny eyed him. She kept smiling at Landa as he backed away again, bringing his gaze back to Ulmer last. "And this is Enzo's camera assistant, Domonick DeCocco."

Ulmer nodded at Landa in greeting, Landa nodding back in response. Bridget looked at all of them as they looked at her, motioning towards Landa and speaking in Italian. "This is an old friend, Colonel Hans Landa of the SS."

"Bawn gorno." Audrea blinked hard at Raine's attempt at an Italian hello, holding back the snort at his thick Southern accent poking through. Landa looked at him oddly and then nodded at all of them. "It is a pleasure. The friends of our cherished star, admired by all of us, this outright jewel of our culture, are naturally going to be under my personal protection for the duration of their stay."

Landa smiled at everyone as they all stared at him in silence for a moment before Raine cut the silence, thanking Landa. "Gratzee."

Audrea couldn't help but snort this time at Raine's attempt at an Italian accent, trying to cover it up as a slight coughing fit. Donny looked down at her with a subtle glare as he patted her on the back, attempting to subdue the cough attack. Landa looked at Audrea and then back at Raine, smiling. "Gorlomi…am I saying it correctly?"

"Yes- er, correcto." Raine nodded at Landa.

Landa kept his eyes on Raine as he said it again. "Gar-lomi…say it for me once please?"

Raine looked hard at Landa before pronouncing his fake name for him. "Gor-lahmi."

"I'm sorry…come again?" Landa laughed lightly as he turned an ear in Raine's direction. Audrea looked up at Raine to see annoyance flash across his face before he continued, raising a hand up to annunciate. "Gor-lahmi."

"Once more?" Landa asked Raine for a pronunciation one last time as Ulmer, Donny, Bridget, and Audrea all kept their gazes on anything other than Raine's annoyed face. Raine took a slight breath before pronouncing his name once again, this time in a whisper. "Gor-lahmi."

Landa didn't respond to Raine this time and instead turned his attention to Donny. "What's your name again?"

"Antonio Margheriti." Donny slathered a thick Italian accent all over his pronunciation and Audrea smiled, keeping her gaze on Landa who just turned an ear towards Donny. "Again?"

"Mar-ghe-riti." Donny pronounced his name once more, annoyance appearing on his face much faster than Raine's. Landa just smiled at Donny, sticking his chest out. "One more time, but let me hear the music in it!"

Donny stared at Landa and then raised his voice, leaning forward. "Mar-ghe-riti-"

"Margheriti!" Landa pronounced the name perfectly as he cut Donny off, turning to Ulmer as Donny just looked over at Raine annoyed. "And you?"

"DeCocco. Domonick DeCocco." Ulmer pronounced his name for Landa who slapped him on the back with a wide smile. "Bravo! Bravo!"

Everyone stared over at Ulmer in disbelief as he just shrugged, Bridget catching Landa's attention with a cough. "Well, my two cameraman friends need to find their seats."

Landa nodded at her and then held a hand out towards Ulmer and Donny. "Let me see your tickets."

Donny and Ulmer looked at each other before handing over their tickets. Landa looked over them as Raine glanced down at Bridget who just shrugged. "I suppose you getting premiere tickets for your friends wouldn't be the most difficult thing for a star of your status," Landa handed over Ulmer and Donny's tickets one by one, reading out the numbers. "0023 and 0024. That shouldn't be too difficult to find, goodbye."

Donny, Ulmer, and Audrea all smiled at Landa like they were deer caught in the headlights of a big truck, his head motioning for the theater. "Arrivederci."

Ulmer was the first to move towards the seating area followed by Donny who just pulled Audrea along after him. She looked back at Landa to see him turn around to face Raine and Bridget once more before she turned forward. "Jesus Christ, that was awkward."

"You think?" Donny turned to look at her as all three of them made their way into the seating area and down the short ramp to the row for their seats. All three of them looked around at the balcony seating to see more of the major figures from the German military, including Martin Bormann. Audrea saw Donny's wide smirk as he looked at all of them. "They're all here in one place like sheep in a pen."

"All lined up for the slaughter." Ulmer smirked at Donny's thought as he stopped in front of the row they were assigned to. They all looked down the row and noticed their seats were stuck right in the middle of the row with people on both sides. Ulmer frowned and looked back at Donny and Audrea before rolling his eyes, plastering a fake smile onto his face before pushing his way through the row of people. "Scusi!"

Donny followed after Ulmer as Audrea watched them push through people and repeat the same word over and over again until they got to their seats. They turned to sit down and then stared at her when they realized she had not followed them. She cocked an eyebrow at both of them before looking down at the older gentleman seated at the end of the row, plastering the cheesiest smile she could muster onto her face. "Scusi!"

Audrea said the word in a polite, hushed voice and he looked up at her, quickly standing and smashing himself against the back of the seat as much as he could to let her squeeze by. The men seated after him quickly did the same, leaving an open area for her to walk through without any trouble. Audrea nodded at the men as she walked by, sitting down next to Donny and smirking as he and Ulmer shot glares in her direction.

"Remind me to wear a dress next time so I can get through a row of men without touching knees with sweaty people." Donny glared at her again before shoving the ticket he held in his hand into the pocket of his suit. Audrea rolled her eyes at him as she looked around the theater at various people.

"Just make sure you grow a set of boobs too and you'll be golden."

* * *

><p>"Isn't half of this shit made up? I think the German film industry is outdoing themselves with this overly exaggerated bullshit." Donny grumbled as he slid farther down into his seat, his hand flattening over his face. Audrea shrugged as she pulled on a long curl, smoothing out some of the parts that were now beginning to stick out. "Wasn't it based on a true story?"<p>

Audrea could literally feel Donny's eye roll at her comment and she smirked. "True story my Jewish ass-"

"Isn't it about time you went to the bathroom to check on your you-know-what and then look for you-know-who?" Ulmer's face appeared from across Donny as he elbowed him, an annoyed look shooting in Donny's direction. Donny removed his hand from his face and cocked an eyebrow at Ulmer. "What the fuck are you talking about-"

"The plan!" Ulmer's voice echoed a bit over the gunshots sounding from the screen and a few shh's could be heard from around them. Donny stared at Ulmer before standing with a start, turning to walk towards the end of the aisle. "Scusi!"

Audrea brought her knees to her chest to allow Donny to pass, his scusi's continuing until he reached the end of the row, walking swiftly up the aisle towards the back of the theater. Audrea brought her feet back to the floor and smoothed out the bottom of her dress as she looked at Ulmer, his hand sliding down his face. He sighed and then looked over at her. "I swear, sometimes I think he's too stupid to be in a war."

Audrea chuckled and then smiled at Ulmer's comment. "Just be patient with him. He wants to do a good job and then go out in a blaze of glory."

Ulmer looked at her for a moment before shrugging, opening his mouth to respond when a loud "psst!" could be heard from their left. The entire row looked in the same direction they were and Donny could be seen motioning for both of them to come with him. Ulmer and Audrea stared at him for a moment before Ulmer's face scrunched in confusion. He mouthed a "what?" in Donny's direction and Donny huffed, motioning his hands in a more aggressive manner.

"Let's just go." Ulmer whispered towards Audrea and she stood from her seat, whispering down at the man sitting next to her. "Scusi!"

The entire row of men once again shoved themselves against the backs of their seats to let her through. Audrea nodded at all of them as she passed, whispering a thanks to all of them as she passed before she heard a loud thud from behind her. Audrea glanced back and saw Ulmer flat on the floor. She made a face at him as he scrambled to his feet, standing next to Audrea when he made it to the end and smoothing his suit out. Donny shot Ulmer a look before all three of them walked towards the doors in the back of the theater, Donny throwing them open and then beginning to take off his suit jacket.

"He's up in the third balcony seating area. I fucking saw him with my own eyes." Donny draped his suit jacket over his arm as he stopped at the bottom of one of the spiral staircases.

"No shit?" Ulmer gave Donny an impressed look and draped his own suit coat over his arm. Audrea gave Donny the same look as his gaze met hers. "Nice work."

Donny smirked at her before going into details of what the plan was. "Audrea, you'll stay here and guard the stairs. If anyone tries to get upstairs you just fake an injury since most men can't ignore a pretty lady in distress."

Audrea rolled her eyes at him, annoyed that she had to play a helpless girl in this scenario, but she obliged, nodding her head at him. "Got it."

"Ulmer, you and I will disguise ourselves as waiters and bring water to the two guards standing outside the door. We'll shoot them down and then burst inside to take out the fucking asshole once and for all. War over thanks to the Basterds!" Donny's smile widened as he looked at Ulmer, his hands clasping together in anticipation of taking out Germany's leader. He looked between Ulmer and Audrea, his demeanor turning to determination. "You ready to do this?"

Ulmer and Audrea nodded at him before he reached forward, grabbing Audrea's arm and pulling her towards him to place their lips together before he ascended up the stairs with Ulmer. His eyes met hers and they nodded at each other before Donny turned around. Audrea stared after them until they disappeared behind one of the hallway's walls, turning her attention back to the main floor. She leaned back against the banister of the staircase and looked around, a slightly opened door catching her eye. She went against her good judgment and walked towards it slowly, scanning around the room for any types of hostile forces. When she deemed the area safe, she quickly made her way over to the door and pushed it open a bit more, poking her head inside. The room looked like an office of some sort with a large desk right in the middle and various shelving units stationed around the room. Something sticking out from behind the desk caught her eye and she looked down to the floor, freezing at what she saw. A foot was sticking out from behind the desk and she swallowed hard, pushing herself farther into the room and towards the owner of the foot.

"Oh my god…" Audrea leaned over the desk and caught sight of Bridget's lifeless body sprawled out on the floor. She gripped the edge of the desk as she stared at Bridget, realization hitting her. _If Bridget is lying dead on the floor in here, where's Raine?_

"Are you lost?" Audrea jumped with a start when she heard someone speak from behind her and she whipped around, a Nazi guard shooting her a confused look. She gripped the edge of the desk harder and glanced down at Bridget's body, moving towards it slowly. She brought her gaze back up to the guard and smiled, pushing Bridget's exposed foot farther behind the desk. "Yes…you know, I just couldn't seem to find the washroom."

Audrea laughed lightly as she spoke in German to the guard, her hands raising up in a confused fashion. The guard stared at her for a moment before his eyes averted to the floor. "What is that?"

"It is a gorgeous carpet," Audrea walked in front of the body and towards the door. "I really need to find that washroom-"

"It's a body!" She heard the sound of a gun cocking and she froze, turning around with her hands raised to see the guard holding up a pistol. "You stop right there! What is going on?"

Audrea swallowed hard and then shrugged her shoulders in mock confusion. "I'm not sure what you are talking about-"

"You tell me right now what is going on or I will shoot you!" She flinched at the guard's raised voice and lowered her hands, realizing she was going to have to kill this guy to even get out of this situation and to keep him from telling the other guard's, thus forcing an evacuation and getting them all killed. She sighed and then walked forward towards Bridget, keeping her eyes on the raised gun. "I don't know. I seemed to have been at the wrong place at the wrong time. I walked into this room and found this woman lying dead on the floor."

The guard stared at her before bringing his gaze to the floor, lowering his gun slowly. "Did you see anything?"

Audrea shook her head as she walked slowly behind the guard, reaching down for her knife. She moved her dress out of the way and unsheathed the knife from its carrier on her left thigh. "Unfortunately not."

She watched him carefully inspect the body on the ground as she walked closer to his back, her knife raised at the ready. As she reached a hand forward to hold him in place he whipped around, catching sight of the knife in her hand. His eyes went wide as he rushed forward, dropping his gun and then grabbing her shoulders. Audrea's back slammed against the top of the desk as she struggled to remove his hands from around her neck. The knife fell out of her hand and onto the floor with a thud next to Bridget as both of her hands struggled against his vice grip around her throat. She gasped a bit as her right hand removed itself from the guard's hands, reaching down towards her right thigh where her pistol sat. She swatted at the carrier, feeling it against her fingers, as she continued to fight with the guard. Black spots began to form behind her eyes and she knew if she couldn't get a hold on her pistol this guard was going to strangle her to death.

"You dare try to harm me?" The guard screamed in her face and she closed her eyes when she felt a few drops of spit hit her cheek. Her fingers brushed over the gun once again as she used all of her strength to reach farther down for the gun, gripping it hard and pulling it out of the carrier. She shoved it into the man's stomach and fired two rounds, the guard's eyes widening as his grip on her neck loosened. The stream of blood that fell onto Audrea's hand and dress was warm, and she made a face at the overwhelming smell of the liquid as it consumed the room.

"Fuck off, Nazi scum…" Audrea's hoarse voice was the last thing the guard heard before he slid backwards off of Audrea and to the floor, his body landing close to Bridget's in a bloody mess. Audrea dropped her pistol to the table as her hands reached for her throat, coughing to regain her breath. She felt around her neck and flinched at the burning sensation when her hands ran over the welts she knew were going to be present. After a few moments she sat up and looked around, holding her head and closing her eyes as the blood rushed. "Christ…"

She opened her eyes again and stood from the desk, grabbing her pistol from the table and looking at it. A line of blood was present on the gun and she bent down, grabbing the guard's suit jacket roughly and wiping it off. She kicked the man in the face as she grabbed her knife from the floor, looking down at her dress where a large bloodstain was present. She frowned and grabbed the slit in her dress, slicing a portion of it and then ripping it in a full circle so the length of the dress now hit her mid-thigh.

"If they didn't think we were suspicious before, they will now." Audrea smirked as she looked at both visible carriers on her thighs, returning the knife to its own. She stepped over the guard and walked towards the door, holding onto the edge as she looked out around the corner for more guards. The hall was quiet and empty when she stepped out, quickly making her way up the steps. She heard gunshots come from around the corner when she made it to the top and she slid herself against the wall, walking to the corner and then peeking around. She sighed at what she saw and then walked out, shaking her head. "You guys made one hell of a mess."

Donny and Ulmer were standing above two dead SS guards and unstrapping guns from their hands. The blood that splattered the wall behind Donny stuck out against the dull color of the wallpaper. Donny smirked as he tossed the small gun to the floor, picking up the Nazi's assault rifle and cocking it before looking at Audrea. "You know, always have to be flashy-"

Donny froze when his eyes met the marks on Audrea's neck, the rifle lowering down to his side as he stepped forward. Ulmer looked up in confusion at the silence and then over towards where Audrea was standing, seeing Donny was now reaching a hand up to Audrea's neck as she stepped back. He gave her a stern look and then crossed his arms. "What happened?"

Audrea shrugged and mimicked his stance. "Got into a battle of my own. I'm fine."

"Those marks don't look fine." Donny's voice took on an authoritative tone and Audrea rolled her eyes, smoothing out her disheveled hair. "I was just almost strangled to death by an SS guard. I shot him in the stomach so he won't be getting back up. I'm fine and that's all that matters right now, so don't worry about it," Her eyes scanned over both Donny and Ulmer, resting at the door where Hitler himself would be stationed behind. "Don't you have a leader to kill?"

Donny stared at her for a few moments as Ulmer remained silent, unsure of what to say in the situation. Donny's sigh cut through the silence as he nodded, raising his gun and then looking back at Ulmer. "She's right. Let's go."

Ulmer nodded at him as they both walked towards the door, Audrea following behind with her pistol raised in case guards came around the corners. Donny reached for the handle and then pushed the door open, the loud sound of a woman's voice echoing through the theater now.

"I have a message for Germany! That you are all going to die!" The booming voice startled all three of them as they stared at the screen, keeping quiet behind the seat where Hitler himself sat right next to film director Joseph Goebbels.

"Enough! Stop it!" Hitler rose from his seat and motioned aggressively towards the screen, Goebbels following his lead and looking towards the projection room. "Turn off the projector!"

"And I want you to look deep into the face of the Jew that is going to do it!" Audrea stared into the hate-filled eyes of the blonde woman as she stared out into the audience full of German offenders, her lips turning upwards into a smile. "Marcel...burn it down."

Everyone went quiet for a moment before the screen went up in flames, forcing Audrea, Ulmer, and Donny to protect their faces from the sudden heat. Donny was the first to lower his arm, staring at the engulfed stage before turning to Ulmer and yelling over the commotion. "Do it now!"

Audrea backed up a few steps as Donny and Ulmer stood side by side, raising their rifles in front of them. When Hitler and Goebbels turned to run from the room, Donny and Ulmer opened fire. The bullets lodged into both bodies with a brute force that tossed them both backwards, their bodies hitting the floor as bullets continued to rain down on them. Flesh, blood, and the smell of burning bodies filled the theater and Audrea covered her nose, watching in revenge-filled enjoyment as both the Nazi's and their leader began to die.

The loud bang of a part of the stage hitting the floor shook Audrea from her frozen state, her eyes darting to both Donny and Ulmer and realizing they both still had the bombs strapped to their calves. She shoved her gun back into its holster and then grabbed her knife, bending down and grabbing the bottom of Donny's pant leg. He didn't pause as he continued to hold down the trigger of his rifle, allowing Audrea to saw away at the fabric holding the bombs in place. When the blade cut completely through, she grabbed the bomb and threw it over the balcony and into the crowd, moving quickly over to work on Ulmer's bomb.

"We have to get out of here! You killed him and a lot of his army! We can get out of here!" Audrea's voice strained as she screamed over the loud commotion from below, shaking Donny's shoulder after throwing the second bomb to the ground floor. He didn't move as she continued to shake him, her face contorting into anger. She reached forward and thrust the rifle from his hands, catching his attention and forcing him to look back at her. He reached for the rifle as she threw it to the side, grabbing the front of his shirt. "We can go! Now!"

Donny stared at her for a few moments before looking down to the disfigured body of Nazi Germany's once proud leader. The gears in his head began to click as realization hit him, nodding his head at Audrea and then grabbing Ulmer's arm. "Let's go!"

Audrea ran ahead of the two men down the stairs towards the front doors. Her eyes darted around the vacant lobby in confusion. She looked back at the doors to the seating area and noticed a bar was stationed between both handles, preventing anyone from leaving.

"They locked them in! They planned to kill all of the Germans in this building!" Audrea's voice rang out as she looked at Donny and Ulmer running down the stairs behind her, their eyes darting over to the doors. Donny skidded ahead of Audrea to the doors, pulling them open as she and Ulmer walked through them. "Yeah, but who is they-"

The explosion hit all three of them and tossed them backwards into the street with enough force to knock them into the next town. Their bodies hit the pavement and slid a few feet before stopping in front of the building across the street. Audrea's head slammed into a street pole and she groaned in pain, shutting her eyes tight as her body halted on the cold pavement. She lied there, her body shouting out in pain from every part.

"Audrea…" A voice calling out to her forced her to slowly open her eyes, her vision blurry as she blinked to clear it. She looked in front of her, crying out in pain when her neck moved. She blinked through the water that made its way into her eyes and saw Ulmer crawling towards her, his hands reaching forward and placing themselves on her shoulders. "Don't move."

"Where's Donny?" Audrea cringed when saying even two words caused her immense pain. Ulmer looked at her and then glanced around him, his eyes landing on a figure just behind him. "He's over there. I'll go-"

"No." Audrea's hoarse voice hit Ulmer's ears and he looked down at her, seeing her forcing herself up. He reached forward to stop her when she slapped his hands away, her brows furrowing in pain as she got to her knees. She let out a few cries and grunts of pain as she crawled towards Donny, her hands reaching out when she reached him. She gently pushed him over to his back, seeing his eyes were closed as he lay motionless.

"Donny?" Audrea's voice cracked as her eyes darted around Donny's face, looking for any signs of life. "Donny?!"

Her voice became more frantic as she moved forward again, sitting down on her backside and then gently pulling Donny's form into her lap. She ran a hand over his cheek as she desperately searched his face, her eyes watering again as she feared the worst. "Donny?!"

She felt a tear leak down her cheek as she gently tapped his face, screaming at him to wake up. "Donny!"

The tears fell faster now as she continued to rub and tap his cheek, Ulmer coming up behind her and looking down at Donny's body in her lap.

"Donny!" His name left Audrea's lips again in a desperate and saddened shriek as Ulmer lowered his head, his hand reaching out to hold onto Audrea's shoulder.


	6. Victory (Good Ending)

**This story will have two alternate endings because I thought up two ideas for the situations where Donny would live or die in the theater explosion. This ending, the good ending, will have Donny alive for the end of the war. The next ending, the bad ending and next chapter, will have Donny dead for the end of the war and Audrea's response to it. **

**Just a word of warning ahead for those of you who choose to read both endings, the bad ending will have a trigger warning attached to it. Thanks!**

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><p>A truck drove hastily on a dirt road through a dense forest, its tires crunching over fallen brush. The sky was gloomy and held an abundance of light gray clouds. Inside the truck in the passenger's seat sat Hans Landa, admiring Aldo Raine's favorite knife. His fingers slid along the blade, careful not to slice the tips on the edge. The truck slowly slid to a stop as Landa placed the knife back in its carrier, a broad smile present on his face.<p>

"These are the American lines, Colonol sir." Hermann looks over at Landa as he puts the truck in park, opening his door as Landa nods at him and does the same. They move towards the back of the covered truck and Hermann opens the curtains, opening the bottom barrier soon after. Landa walks forward and peeks inside at two handcuffed men, smiling widely. "Gentlemen, we have arrived."

Aldo Raine looks over at him and smirks, Smithson Utivich staying silent as he looks at the surrounding forest. Without another word, Landa motions for Hermann to move Raine and Utivich from the truck. The two men quickly stand and Hermann reaches a hand out to help Raine down from the truck bed, his hand being pushed away by Raine who just sends him a glare. "I can get down myself."

Hermann just looks at him as Raine jumps down, Uticvich following suit. They walk over to where Landa is standing by the American line, continuing to smile broadly at the two men who are handcuffed in front of him. "Hermann, you can take those cuffs off of them now."

Hermann nods at Landa and walks over to Raine, removing the handcuffs and then moving over towards Utivich as Raine rubs his wrists. Landa reaches into his pocket and takes out Raine's pistol, handing it over to him. He then moves to a knife strapped to his belt and unhooks it, handing it out to Raine. "I am officially surrendering myself to you, Lt. Raine."

Landa smiles at Raine as he puts the knife into the waistband of his pants. Raine looks hard at Landa as he places his hands on his hips. "What about my knife?"

Landa chuckles and then reaches down for another knife carrier, grabbing it and handing it over to Raine who takes it and places it next to Landa's knife. He holds his pistol in his left hand and subtly smiles at Landa. "Thank you very much, Colonel. Utivich, cuff the Colonel's hands behind his back."

Utivich nods at Raine and then walks towards Hermann, taking the handcuffs from his hands and then walking behind Landa. Landa glances back at him in confusion and then looks at Raine, Utivich grabbing his hands and cuffing them. "Now, is this really necessary?"

Raine checks the pistol for bullets and then looks up at Landa, giving him a smirk. "It helps to keep up appearances."

Raine points the pistol at Hermann and fires one shot into his chest. Landa looks startled as Hermann falls to the ground. Raine reaches for Landa's knife and hands it to Utivich who grabs it. "Scalp Hermann."

"Are you mad?!" Landa looks over at Raine in shock as Utivich unsheathes the knife and walks over to Hermann, bending down. "What have you done?! I made a deal with your General for that man's life!"

Raine looks at Landa and then shrugs. "Yeah they made that deal, but they don't give a fuck about 'im, they need you."

Landa looks at Raine in disbelief, his face contorting into a look of anger. "You'll be shot for this!"

Raine purses his lips and then shakes his head. "Nah, I don't think so. More like chewed out. I've been chewed out before."

Raine smiles as Landa stares at him. Raines eyes look around in the trees and he takes a quick glance behind him before turning back to Landa. "Ah, I'd also like you to say 'ello to a couple 'a old friends."

Landa stares at him and then looks behind Raine when he hears crunching sounds echoing through the trees. Landa's eyes go wide as Raine turns around, smirking at the three figures that appear out of the trees.

"They were dead! They should be dead!" Landa yells towards Raine as Donny, Ulmer, and Audrea walk up to them, all of them still dressed in their torn and battered suits and dress. Raine smirks at them again before turning back to Landa. "Yeah…they should 'a been, but they ain't."

Landa's mouth opens and closes a few times before he seethes at Raine. "How did they know we were coming here?"

Raine inspects his pistol and then glances up at Landa, shrugging. "I have a lot more sources than you think, Colonel. They knew exactly what we were doin' and where we were doin' it at."

"Surprise, bitch." Donny smirks at Landa as he continues to stare at all three of them, Raine placing the pistol into his left hand. "You know, I 'eard 'at other deal you's gone and made with the General, about endin' the war tonight? I'll make that deal," Raine turns to look at Audrea, Ulmer, and Donny, turning to Utivich last. "What about you? You make that deal?"

Donny, Ulmer, and Audrea all nod at Raine as Utivich continues to scalp Hermann. "I'd make that deal."

"I don't blame ya, damn good deal," Raine smirks at Utivich before turning back to Landa. "Now, I just have one question. When you get back to Nantucket Island, I reckon you's goin' to take off that SS uniform, ain't ya?"

Landa just stares at Raine, unable to speak. Raine nods at Landa as his face goes a bit grim. "That's what I thought. I can't abide by that. How about you, Utivich, can you abide it?"

"Not one damn bit, sir." Utivich peels off Hermann's scalp and inspects it as he answers Raine, wiping the knife on Hermann's jacket. Raine walks forward towards Landa and then whispers in his ear, looking up at the sky. "Now, if it were up to me, I'd make you wear that goddam uniform for the rest of your pecker suckin' life," Raine looks around again as he slowly backs up a few inches to look at Landa in the eyes. "But that just ain't practical. At some point you goin' to have to take it off."

Raine unsheathes his own knife and holds it in front of Landa's face, smirking. "I'm just goin' to have to give you a little somethin' you can't take off."

Raine reaches forward and pushes Landa's hat up, exposing his forehead. Landa stares at Raine, realization hitting him as his face takes on a look of fear.

"Oh, I'm really starting to enjoy this part." Audrea sighs in anticipation as Donny laughs, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her gingerly into his side. He looks down at her and catches her attention, seeing her look up at him as he smirks. "We really did rub off on you, didn't we? We really fucked you up."

Audrea shrugs as Ulmer chuckles, looking over at her. "Maybe in a good way. At least I know now that this life is a hell of a lot more fun than my other life would have been."

Landa's writhing scream catches all of their attention and they look over towards Raine and Utivich, seeing them hunched over a squirming Landa. Ulmer lets out a loud laugh and crosses his arms. "The screaming of enemies in pain never gets old either."

Audrea smirks at Utivich and shakes her head as Donny reaches a hand towards him, punching him in the arm and forcing him to sway a bit. Utivich just looks up at him and smirks back, all three of them returning their attention to Raine.

"I'll tell ya somethin', Utivich, this may just be my masterpiece." Raine looks down at the bloody Swastika carved into Landa's forehead, Utivich nodding his head as a broad smile appears on his face. Landa continues to writhe in pain as the two men stand up, Raine returning his knife to its carrier and walking over towards Audrea, Donny, and Ulmer.

"After I make this 'ere deal, the war's over." Raine looks around at everyone and smiles, Ulmer scrunching his eyebrows. "Then what? What's everyone going to do?"

Raine casts his gaze towards Ulmer and scrunches his own eyebrows in confusion. "I don't really know. Go back to Tennessee, I guess."

"Go back home and back to work for me." Utivich shrugged and looked up at everyone, Ulmer nodding his head in agreement. "Same here."

Audrea thought for a moment and then shrugged, biting her lip. "I don't really even know. I mean, I don't have a family to go to, or even a home for that matter."

Everyone looked over at Audrea, Raine's face falling in concern.

"Go back to Boston with me." Donny spoke through the silence and everyone looked at him, Audrea looking up at him in confusion. "What?"

Donny smiled at her and removed his arm from her shoulders, placing his hands there instead. "Come home with me. You don't have anywhere to go and, I mean, my own mother would love you."

Audrea stared at him in disbelief of his hospitality, thinking she would never see the day when the large man in front of her would say something so nice instead of insulting someone's six generations of family. Donny scanned her face for an answer and then bit his lip, removing his hands from her shoulders and then bending down to one knee. "Audrea Falco…"

"Aw shit!" Raine smacked Utivich hard on the back as he smiled widely, Utivich and Ulmer staring down at Donny in disbelief. Audrea stared down at Donny, her hands shaking at her sides.

"Will you marry me?" Donny smiled up at her as she stared down at him, Raine making some sort of noise out of anticipation and happiness at seeing a proposal. Audrea tore her eyes away from Donny's and looked around at the other three men, Raine nodding at her as Utivich and Ulmer stared blankly at her. She took in a long shaky breath and then looked down at Donny, her lips slowly turning upwards into a smile. "Yes-"

"Hot damn! She said fucking yes!" Raine shouted out into the forest and startled everyone. He grabbed Utivich in a tight hug and spun him around, setting him down and then screaming into his face. "We're goin' to have a weddin'!"

Before Utivich could register what Raine had just done, Raine moved over towards Audrea and grabbed her waist, picking her up and swinging her around. "You're gettin' married, darlin'!"

Audrea felt her head start to ache at all of the images of the trees and the men around her going by and she laughed, grabbing Raine's shoulders as she closed her eyes. "Put me down! I'm getting dizzy!"

Raine stopped spinning and planted her feet to the ground, Donny moving forward to place a hand on Raine's shoulder. He looked back at Donny and then at Audrea, smiling widely. "You're getting' married!"

"Yes, now move aside so I can actually kiss my future bride." Donny shot a look at Raine who just continued to smile at him, moving out of the way so Donny could move forward and embrace Audrea. She laughed as he picked her up, twirling her around once before bringing her in for a passionate kiss. Raine sighed and then looked at Utivich and Ulmer. "They're getting' married."

Utivich and Ulmer stared at Raine as Donny and Audrea continued to kiss behind him, both of them looking at each other after a moment and then back at Raine with a look of annoyance.

"They know!"


	7. Defeat (Bad Ending)

**TRIGGER WARNING!: Suicide and depression.**

**A lot of emotion and thought went into this ending, and I had a hard time deciding if I actually wanted to post it as an alternate ending. Just a big warning to you guys since the events in the chapter could be controversial and/or triggering. Otherwise, if you're comfortable reading those kinds of things, I really hope this chapter does itself justice. Thank you for reading, and if you like what you read, please send me a review and tell me your thoughts on the story!**

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><p>The rain fell in light sprinkles as the sky held an abundance of dreary, gray clouds. Audrea looked up at the sky through the branches of the high growing trees, Ulmer standing next to her.<p>

"How are you doing?" Ulmer hesitated in asking his question, but decided to ask it anyway, genuinely caring for Audrea's well-being after what had happened back at the theater. He heard a slow sigh sound from Audrea's lips and he glanced over at her, seeing her face was positioned upwards towards the sky and her eyes were closed.

She was dead inside. She imagined the pain of ten gunshot wounds to the chest and abdomen would hurt less than the pain she felt after Donny had actually died back on the sidewalk across from the theater. The image of his lifeless face and body still flashed through her mind and she broke down at least five times as Ulmer attempted to pull her away from Donny. She remembered the screaming as she kept her vice grip on his body, refusing to let go of the physical and emotional connection she had with him. He was the only person she could care for so deeply after the Nazi's murdered her entire family, and now they had once again taken that away from her.

"I don't even know anymore, Ulmer…" She blinked hard once before lowering her head, her gaze going down to the forest floor instead of over at Ulmer. Ulmer opened his mouth to reply, but then decided against it, figuring his questions and responses would only push her deeper into the hole she was digging herself into. He heard a crunch from beside and him and turned to see Audrea walking slowly away from him deeper into the forest.

"I just need to be alone for a minute." Audrea's voice was low and Ulmer strained to hear her as she walked away, out of sight into the trees as Raine called for "old friends." Ulmer shot his gaze in the general direction of Raine's voice and then panicked, shooting his gaze back to the direction Audrea had gone. After the theater explosion, Audrea and Ulmer had received information that Raine and Utivich had been captured by Landa, but were still alive. They were told to meet Raine at the American line.

"Shit…" Ulmer swore under his breath as he contemplated going after Audrea or going to Raine. He turned in the direction of Raine's voice and then started a quick jog towards him. When Ulmer emerged from the trees he saw Landa standing in front of Raine. Landa's eyes went wide at the sight of the Basterd alive as Raine smirked at Ulmer.

Ulmer quickly walked up to Raine and whispered to him in rushed sentences. "Audrea's still alive. She just walked somewhere into the woods. We have to find her as soon as possible."

Ulmer backed away from Raine as he stared at him, Raine's eyes going wide in concern. He nodded at him before turning back to Landa. "Now, I'm goin' to make this quick because I have some other business to attend to."

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><p>Audrea heard the continuous sound of leaves crunching under her bare feet as she walked, flinching a bit when she stepped on a pine needle. She had lost her shoes back at the theater explosion and she was dreading that fact now. She sighed as she looked down at the forest floor, unaware of where she was going or how long she had been walking. Time didn't matter to her now.<p>

"Snap the fuck out of it. You're going to win this war with Raine's deal and then you're going to go on with your life." She scolded herself as she came to a stop in the middle of the forest. An annoyed sigh left her lips as she once again threw her head back, her eyes looking up into the sky. _Then again, you don't have anything now. Nothing matters because you have nothing._

The thought ran through Audrea's head along with the image of Donny's face, her eyes shooting open as she took in a ragged breath. She felt her legs give out from under her and she dropped to her knees, her palms going flat against the forest floor as she attempted to subdue another panic attack. Her heart rate picked up as images of Donny, good and bad, flew through her head in a blurred frenzy. The tears fell before she could stop them and she let out a loud sob, closing her eyes as she just let them fall freely. She felt she couldn't live with herself. Her family was gone. She had no home. She now had no love to go back to.

_They took everything from me. They lost the war, but they won against me._

Audrea coughed as she attempted to keep her breathing steady through the sobs, her hands grabbing at handfuls of dirt and leaves in desperation. Her body began to quiver at this point as some sort of realization hit her. Before she could register anything that was happening around her, she was sitting up onto her knees. Her head fell back and her eyes closed as she reached down towards her right thigh, grabbing the pistol that sat there in its carrier.

Her body shook uncontrollably as she raised the pistol to her temple, another loud sob escaping her lips as her eyes remained closed. Her finger shook wildly as she placed it on the trigger. She cocked the gun, but couldn't pull the trigger.

_They took everything from me. They won._

The sound of one single gunshot echoed through the woods as her body fell limp to the ground. The hand holding the gun fell hard to the forest floor and the gun slid out of it a few feet from her body.

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><p>"Find her now!" Raine screamed out in desperation at Utivich and Ulmer, running through the forest and scanning frantically through the trees. Raine's mind feared the worst, but he hoped for the best.<p>

"Raine! O-over h-here!" Utivich's voice caught Raine's attention and his face fell at the tone it took. Ulmer and Raine sprinted to Utivich's position, Raine letting out a short cry when he saw Utivich looking away from a body lying on the ground. Ulmer stopped dead in his tracks next to Utivich as Raine pushed passed him, skidding to his knees next to Audrea. His cry of pain opened a path for tears and he couldn't stop them from falling heavily. Seeing the combination of Audrea's limp body, the blood, and Raine crying forced a chain reaction and they both fell silent as tears streamed down their faces.

"Oh god…fucking god…" Raine got one broken sentence out before shutting his eyes, turning away from Audrea as he slammed a fist into the ground. "I would have taken you in! I could have been the family you needed!"

Utivich and Ulmer jumped a bit at Raine's sudden outburst, watching him slam his palms into the ground in front of her body. He let out a pained breath as he reached forward, pulling Audrea's body into his lap. The blood that fell from her bullet wound stained his clothes and hands, Raine ignoring the sticky sensation on his fingers as he reached for her face. He gently pulled her face forward to look at him, letting out another pained breath as he slowly closed her eyes.

"I could have been there for you…we could have been there for you…"


End file.
